YuGiOh I2
by BoogiepopShippuden
Summary: OC Story- When strange occurrences left Pegasus seeking new employees, he got us. This is the story of the weird things we do while making the cards you love. Major Xover w/ Broken Dreams. WARNING: Strange Content and Odd Humor.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: This story is important…no, VITAL to the plot of Broken Dreams, and the plot of Broken Dreams is important to this story as well. Well of course some chapters will be nothing but randomness. This one is a little...in between in terms of randomness. Trust me, most of the others will make a lot more sense.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh GX, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Leekspin, or anything else I make a joke about.

**PROLOGUE**

**EUGOLORP**

**P120106U3**

**ENTER LYRA: THE L337 MASTER OF T3H C4RDS**

…

Pegasus spoke into the microphone. He flashed a smile for all the press to see. His elegant white hair swayed with his enthusiastic movements as he worked the crowd into frenzy. "Okay everyone, we're down to the final round of the I2 Gag Card competition. Which of these wonderful employees will win the coveted title of Jester of Card Games?"

Two duelists faced each other with determined smiles. Both held five cards in their hand as they waited for the signal to begin. The first was a young woman with long brown hair dressed in a long black dress that hugged her flat body. Even though she was only nineteen, she had made quite a name for herself in the company.

Pegasus continued. "First up is our lovely Lyra Shiranagatani. Her cards in the first round focused on cute but deadly animals, including the dreaded Kawaii Kitten that wiped out her opponent's fields and their Life Points. How will she top herself now? Next up is last year's champion, Zach Edgeworth. This twenty three year old genius is responsible for some of the more popular cards in play right now, such as the Shin Reapers, Raven Blasters, and the Lunarian Cards. He made it through Round One of the tournament with his newest creation, the Morphotronic Deck. He says he's a big fan of machines and mecha anime. How will this be reflected in his cards? As with the last round, both contestants will duel, and the viewers at home will decide the winner. So America, let's see what they have."

"I'll make the first move," said Zach. He drew a sixth card. He had tanned skin and wore a simple business suit complete with red tie. He looked very professional despite the odd cards he had played in the earlier part of the tournament. His short black hair swayed in the cool breeze.

"Let's start things off with one of my favorites." The young man grinned. "Dues ex Machina!" he slid a Spell Card into the duel disk."

The crowd gasped in wonder as the hologram appeared over the wooden stage. They couldn't wait to see what it did. "This card let's me take one card from my deck each turn as long as it can help me defeat you. While that may seem vague, it's really quite simple. If you have a monster on your field, I can grab a stronger one from my deck as long as I can summon it. If you have a Spell or Trap card I can grab a card capable of destroying Spells and Traps. This card has unrivaled power."

Lyra smiled. "Too bad I don't have any cards out at the moment."

"Not at the moment. But I'm setting two cards and summoning Machine with Warranty." (1200/100) A small computer appeared on his side of the field. "If this card is destroyed within three turns, then it gets Special Summoned. However, on the fourth turn, the warranty is up and it gets destroyed automatically. Your turn."

"I draw!" Lyra smiled as she grabbed the card she wanted. "I play Leet Demon." (1337/1337) "I set one card face down and attack your monster with my own."

A small purple fiend appeared on Lyra's field. He charged forward and smashed the computer into bits. It revived itself through its special effect, but the damage went through."

**Zach: 3863**

"And it is your move," Lyra said with a playful wink.

Zach drew a card and watched the Leet Demon toss a fireball his way.

"During your standby phases, he burns off 666 of your Life Points," Lyra explained.

**Zach: 3197**

"Looks like you have an interesting card there. Too bad for you it won't be around for long. I activate my Deus ex Machina's effect and add Lancelot to my hand. I release my Machine with Warranty to summon Lancelot to the field." (2700/800) A white mecha appeared on Zach's side of the playing field. "Attack the Leet Demon."

Lancelot flew forward and unleashed a fierce spin kick that sent the fiend flying into her owner."

**Lyra: 2637**

"I activate my facedown trap card," he continued. "Defeat Means Friendship. This card lets either player Special Summon any monster they destroy in battle. So Leet Demon is working for me now." (1337/1337) "Attack her directly."

**Lyra: 1300**

"I end my turn."

Lyra drew and smiled. Even as the Leet Demon burned her Life Points away, she grinned.

**Lyra: 634**

"First I activate the Spell Card Potato Chips of Doom! This card destroys one monster you control and gives me 400 Life Points. Say good-bye to your Lancelot."

An open bag of chips appeared in front of the female. She took a potato chip, and ate it!

"Sorry Lyra, but I can't let you do that." Zach held out his hand. "I activate Leek of Rejection. This trap card negates your card and destroys it."

A leek appeared over Zach's head, twirling faster and faster until a space-time distortion sucked the potato chips away.

"Well then, first I summon Leet Warrior (1337/1337) and I'll just play two cards facedown and attack the card you stole from me." She slipped a card from her hand into her graveyard. "Whenever Leet Warrior attacks or is attacked, I can discard one card to raise his attack by 1337 points." (2674/1337)

**Zach: 1866**

Leet Demon blew into tiny little pieces and reassembled himself on Lyra's field. "I end my turn."

Zach drew a card and watched his Life Points tumble thanks to the demon's ability. I use Deus ex Machina to add the spell card Technology Overload. This card allows us to fill all our empty spaces with Tech Tokens." (0/0) Various electronics hit the field Cell phones, PSP's, Nintendo DSi's. "Next I use Trap Booster! By discarding one card, I can activate a trap from my hand. So say hello to DNA Surgery. This card turns all cards on the field to whatever type I choose, and I pick machines!"

Lyra watched as her monsters' skin became steel. "So let me guess, you're about to bring out that card."

Zach smiled. "By sending ten machines from both player' sides of the field to the grave, I can Special Summon TTGL from my Extra Deck!" The cards all broke like glass as a new creature hit the field. It was a robot so big, it couldn't fit its entire body into the stadium. All the audience saw was a foot. (25000/25000) "Of course, he can't attack the turn he's summoned, and he can't attack directly, so you're safe for this turn."

Lyra drew. "Sorry Zach, but I win. First I use Pot of Greed to draw two cards." Her hand went up to three, giving her just what she needed. "Now I activate my two face down cards, Double Summon and Call of the Haunted. First I bring back Leet warrior, then I normal summon another Leet Warrior." (1337/1337) "Now since Double Summon lets me perform an extra summon this turn, I release them both for my Leet Haxorz-God Modding!" (0/0) "But he doesn't stay here for long. I can release him to Special Summon any monster in my hand or Deck without paying any attention to summoning requirements. So I send him away to play the Memetic Overdragon in my deck!" (9001/0)

"Your dragon doesn't have the power to stand against my TTGL!' Zach warned

"Thankfully I have one last Spell to use. Failed Trick Pony! I can activate the effect of one spell or trap in my grave as long as it was negated when I first tried to use it. So say hello to my Potato Chips of Doom!"

TTGL exploded, and Lyra's Life Points went up.

**Lyra: 1034**

"Go, my dragon. Get him!' Lyra watched as her large green dragon floated down to Zach and slammed his fist into the boy.

**Zach: 0**

The crowd roared with excitement. "Looks like Lyra has won the duel, but will she win your votes. We'll find out after this quick commercial break."

…

Hi, my name is Lyra. For as long as I can remember, I've loved the Duel Monsters card game. I always wanted to make my own cards. That's why I was thrilled when I got a position working for I2. I've designed so many cards I can't keep track of them all. Of course, not all of them make it out of the company, but when they do, it's always a rush of joy to see a duelist using a card I made.

I guess I should have paid more attention to some of those cards though.


	2. The Monkeys in the Barrel

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or GX

Author's Notes: Since this is just a bit of a side story, chapters will probably be short. Also, since this crosses over, I'll begin each chapter by telling you how far to read my other story if you want to avoid spoilers. Gah with so many characters I hope I don't accidentally recycle names.

Anyway Nathaniel belongs to my friend rafiki, and Marlow belongs to Lonely Ghost.

I probably won't update anything for a while seeing as Kingdom Hearts comes out tomorrow.

**Minor Spoilers up to Chapter 14**

…

A young male sat in a chair. He had messy brown hair and wore a simple black T-shirt. You'd never guess he was at work if you saw him in that attire.

"Nathaniel," squealed a girl who was just about his age. "How are the cards coming along?"

"I'm trying to balance them well," he explained emotionlessly. "I'm worried they're a little broken. How about you, Lyra?" He asked. It wasn't genuine interest, merely an attempt to be polite.

"I'm having the same problem. I want to make the cards powerful, but I think they're broken. It's such a hassle sometimes." Lyra's head dropped into her hands. "Grrr it's so frustrating," She howled at the floor. "I'm almost done, but I'm not sure."

"Ummm, sure, whatever." Nathaniel turned back to the computer screen. "Let me know if you need any help, I could use a break from this." He continued typing like a maniac. He hit keys to begin and end simulations, pitting them against various well-known deck types. "How interesting," he whispered. His face twisted into a smirk. "You guys may be my greatest work ever."

- - -

"What the hell were you two numb nuts thinking?" A woman in her late thirties screeched at two younger men. She had flowing blonde hair cascading down her back, pale white skin, and a tidy, black, business suit. "You're luck you weren't arrested!"

"Hey, it's not like we were legally drunk or anything." One of the males protested. He had untidy blonde hair and wore beige pants with a white dress shirt and red tie.

"Yeah, we just had a few beers," said his friend. He had well groomed black hair and wore a similar outfit to his friend. The only difference being that his came with a black jacket.

"You two did not just have a few beers. You two idiots had a few beers, climbed on your motorcycles, and tried to duel! Do you know how badly that reflects on the company?"

"Relax, we were just having some fun," explained the first male.

Lyra happened to be passing by when she stopped. Something had caught her ear. "Wait a minute, what's this about motorcycles and dueling?"

"John and Tex here decided to get drunk and then duel while riding their motorcycles," the woman explained.

"Dueling? On? Motorcycles?" Lyra thought it over. "Oh my God that sounds like so much fun!" Lyra squealed. "Shana, we need to get Pegasus' permission to build Dueling Motorcycles. You know people will love it."

"What the?" Shana gawked. "Most people will be too afraid of crashing. Besides, what's the point of dueling on motorcycles?"

"Well then we'll just need to include built in auto pilot," Lyra said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And what's the point of dueling at all? It's too have fun isn't it?"

"What's so fun about trying to hold your cards when you should be holding onto your motorcycle for dear life?" Shana countered.

"Why are you trying to find flaws with this?" Lyra whined. "Look, we build card holders to hold their cards for them. Duelists will be able to hold on when they need to. Then, when it's their turn, they grab whatever card they need and play it."

"Okay fine, I'll let you suggest the idea to Pegasus, but don't come crying to me when he fires you." Shana moaned.

**- - -**

Another card designer quietly worked at his deck. He scratched his stubble as he looked over his latest creations.

"Bad Marlow," scolded a voice behind him. "How many times do we have to tell you? You can't just create a bunch of women with their boobs hanging out of their clothes and try to pass it off as work." She sighed.

Marlow turned to the woman standing behind him and faked a smile. "Sorry, Hazuki, I'll add more clothes right away." His hand slowly wandered toward her body. It slid up her smooth silky skin, heading toward her butt.

Hazuki countered with a swift kick to his nuts.

"Ooof," he fell over in pain, clutching himself and squirming in misery.

"Try that with me again and next time I won't hold back," she warned.

"Yes, mam," he said with a strained voice.

Hazuki turned to Marlow's computer and began reading things over. "I have to say though, these cards look pretty impressive. If you fix up the images and make them more appropriate, I'm sure they'll be a big hit."

"Thank you, mam," Marlow squeaked.

"Hey how's it going guys?" Lyra asked as she wandered by. "Oh no, Marlow, what did you do this time?" She asked in concern.

"He tried to grope my butt," Hazuki explained as she turned away from the computer. "That and he was making more inappropriate cards. I swear, some people never learn from their mistakes, I wasn't talking to you, Lyra," she noted as she watched the young girl sink into the emo corner.

"You might as well have been," she sighed.

"Hey, at least you try your best unlike the pervert over here," she motioned to the man groaning on the ground. "This is the third archetype he's tried to make where all the cards are women with their boobs showing. If he doesn't quit it we may be forced to take desperate measures."

"I know, let's try Classical Conditioning. Every time he tries to create an unnecessarily perverted card, we kick him in the balls."

"No, we do that and we could kill him," Hazuki warned. "He may be a pervert but his cards are actually really good. You know, when their boobs _aren't _showing." She stepped forward really quickly. Her long black hair danced with the movement of her body. "So, I doubt you came all the way here just to chat. Something up?" She asked with a grin.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Pegasus. I checked his office but he wasn't there," Lyra told her.

"He probably needed to take a dump or something. He usually lets the employees know if he has top go anywhere. So what do you need him for?"

"I want to propose an idea top him," Lyra confessed. "Duel Monsters on motorcycles."

"Duel monsters, on, motorcycles?" Hazuki paused. "With built in autopilot we might just be able to, my uncle, he's a mechanic, I'm sure he could," Hazuki's mind wandered off. She twirled around, and the office lights shimmered on her elegant black dress. "I love it. You're a genius Lyra. Riding Duels will be the next big thing in the world of card games."

"Card games on motorcycles?" Marlow laughed. "You guys are idiots." He made lemonade out of the situation and let his eyes trace over Hazuki's slender legs and up to her fuchsia panties.

Hazuki stomped on his crotch like she was trying to squish a cockroach.

"Come with me," she said to Lyra.

- - -

"Mr. Crawford?" Hazuki asked as she knocked on her boss' door. "Huh, I guess he's not in. I thought for sure he was just in the restroom or something."

"I wonder where he is if he isn't there," Lyra sighed. "I guess I should just write a memo or something. I really hope he likes the idea."

"Relax, if Pegasus doesn't like it, we go to Kaibacorp. You know how insane Kaiba is when it comes to extreme games. Hell, he invented the Duel Disks. If Pegasus rejects the idea of dueling on motorcycles, I'm sure Kaiba will like it. Though knowing him, he'll probably take it one step further and try to make flying motorcycles or something."

"Flying motorcycles? Now that's just ridiculous." Lyra said with a chuckle. "Well, I better get back to work; I guess I can always talk Pegasus later. I'm almost done with my newest archetype and I just need to add some finishing touches."

"Good luck with that," Hazuki said with a smile. "I've seen what you have so far. They look like fun cards to use. I hope they make it to circulation."

"Me too," Lyra admitted as she walked away. She broke into a jog. Her shoes clacked against the tile floor. She whistled a happy tune and smiled.

Hazuki watched with a grin. "Lyra, you don't realize it, but your actions will either save this world or destroy it. I can only hope that you soon come to realize your power." She reached for her cellphone and quickly dialed a number. "Hey, Vincent, it's me Hazuki."

- - -

Lyra smelled the azaleas resting in a vase on her desk. "Okay," she cracked her knuckles. "Time to get to business." She began typing away at her computer, adding effects to cards, selecting their levels, and choosing which artwork to use. "Maybe I should have added more variety to them," she said to herself. "You can barely tell them apart unless you're paying close attention."

"Yeah, but I think they look kind of cool like that," Nathaniel lied. Lyra gasped in astonishment to see her coworker standing beside her. "Sorry, I should have said hi instead of just standing there. They have some sort of really cool theme of unity going on."

"Thanks," Lyra said with a smile. "Okay and print," she hit a button on the computer and listened to the printer hum. It spat out about twenty cards, which she slapped together with her preexisting cards. "Now to test them, out."

"Well, I just finished my cards," Nathaniel said. "Want to test them against me?"

Sure, Lyra nodded. "I'll make the first move," she said as she shuffled.

Nathaniel began petting his deck like a precious pet. Come on Blackwings, you can do it, I trust you guys. I know we can win."

Lyra tried not to snicker. "Okay, first up I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two. Next, I use Monster Reborn to bring back the card I got rid of. Come on out, Shadow Templar-Reincarnation!"


	3. Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX

Gah no need to worry about spoilers at the moment.  
. . .

A knight in black armor appeared on Lyra's field. (1200/1700) It began kneeling and plunged its sword into the ground.

"The Shadow Templars. You've been working on them for a while. A series of dark warriors in very similar armor." Hazuki stepped toward the duel, snapping her cellphone shut. "Only the most trained eyes can tell them apart. I wonder, could they fool even you?"

Lyra smiled. "Nah, I've memories their exact details." Lyra reached for another card. "Reincarnation has the longest cape out of the series. And her cape is the only one with a black borderline."

"That's a girl?" Nathaniel commented. "She seems unlike your usual style. Most of your female cards are really cute. Not that there is anything wrong with a female who isn't obvious fanservice." Nathaniel gave a curious look. "Shadow Templar all gain Shadow Counters when special summoned, right? How many does Reincarnation get?"

"None. She gets a Shadow Counter for each monster you control, but I went first, so your field is empty." Lyra frowned. "I set a card and end my turn."

'_She's skipping her normal summon so she can try to get as many Shadow Counters as possible. Of course, this means she misses out on a chance to get another monster out,' _Nathaniel observed. _'Of course, this probably won't matter as much, since the cards are mostly meant to be played in defense mode. Of course, there are a few offensive tactics hidden in their arsenal.'_

"During my end phase, Reincarnation activates her effect if in defense mode. She brings back another Shadow Templar."

'_So, these things all have great defense and powerful effects, but even if I destroy them, I still have to deal with them again.'_

"I'll bring back Shadow Templar- Assault!" (900/1200) A new Templar materialized. She looked much like the last, except the slits in her helmet were slightly narrower and her sword was slightly bloodier. "She gains a Shadow Counter for every card in my hand and I have four!" Assault's Shadow began to dance on the ground, wiggling like a worm. "Since she's in defense mode, her own effect activates. During my end phase, I get to Special Summon a Shadow Templar from my hand! I bring out Revenge!" (300/2100) "As you can see, his boots are larger than the others, and he's taller than the others."

"I don't care about the minor details," Nathaniel stated. "He's the one who gets a Counter for each Templar you control, right? So that's three. And now I can't attack your monsters without taking 500 damage."

"Wow, you're good." Lyra smiled.

Nathaniel drew. "Since you have a monster and I don't, I can normal summon Blackwing- Sirocco of the Dawn without a sacrifice." (2000/900) A large crow like monster descended upon the field. Black feathers spun through the air, falling around Nathaniel as he stared into Lyra's eyes. "Now I control a Blackwing, so I can Special Summon Bora the Spear from my hand!" (1700/800) A spear wielding raven joined his ally. "And the same can be said of Gale the Whirlwind!" (1300/400) Nathaniel grinned. "Now, Gale, cut Revenge's attack and defense in half!"

A fierce wind moaned as Revenge's stats shrunk. (150/1050) "Now, Sirocco, use your effect. I can pick one Blackwing and increase his attack by the attack of the other's. He'll be the only one allowed to attack, but it won't matter. So, I pick Bora the Spear so he can use his piercing ability to take you down to nearly nothing!" Bora's attack rose all the way to 5000. "Now, go, attack Revenge!"

Revenge's Shadow leapt forth and pierced Nathaniel's body, but Bora avenged his master, driving his drill like spear through the Shadow Templar's armor.

**Nathaniel: 3500**

**Lyra: 50**

"Wow, the Blackwings are amazing!" Hazuki noted. "He could have gone for an FTK is he wanted."

"I end my turn," Nathaniel conceded.

Lyra drew her next card. "Well, looks like this is kind of cool. I set one card face down and end my turn. I'll use Assault to bring out Wrath. (300/2000) He gives four counters to a Templar of my choice, so I'll add them to Assault! Next, Reincarnation brings back Revenge who now gains four counters!" (300/2100) "Thanks to Wrath, you must attack with every monster if you are able!"

Nathaniel drew another card. "It seems that thanks to your cards, you may eventually be able to start ending your turns without doing anything. How interesting." He looked over his hand. "I control a Blackwing so I can normal summon Elphin the Raven without a sacrifice!" (2200/1200) "I use his effect to put Revenge in attack position." He watched as Lyra's knight stood up and raised its sword. "Now I'll have Sirocco attack!"

"Go, Supernova Waltz!" A bright light blinded the Blackwing as it flew forward. Revenge's shadow danced through the air. It charged toward Sirocco, but spun around the bird's body and appeared at its backside. The shadow seemed to grin as long thin tentacles shot through the target. "Your monster is destroyed and my monster gains a Shadow Counter."

"Not enough, Bora will continue the assault on Revenge."

"Perhaps, but Perhaps not!" Lyra challenged. With a defiant stance and an outstretched arm, "I activate the trap card Shadow Phase! By removing eight counters from Assault and two more from Revenge, I can end this battle phase right now."

Shadows flooded the field, obscuring everything in darkness for a few moments before the light returned.

"I set a card," was all Nathaniel said.

And Lyra drew. "Time to end this all. I set one card and release all three monsters besides Reincarnation so that I can bring out Shadow Dragoon- Vlad!" (3000/3000) A large vampiric being appeared on the field. He had pale white skin and long blonde hair and wore a majestic red cloak. "In defense mode."

"Oh, is he related to the Templars?" Nathaniel asked, surprised.

"Yes, you see, while he is not a Templar himself, he is in fact their master and creator. He is the one who gave them all their powers, and all their curses. Once per turn, if he's in defense mode, I can reduce his attack by 1000 to release a Shadow Templar I control and inflict damage to you equal to its defense. Of course, at the moment, I actually want Reincarnation on the field. So I'll just end my turn and let Wrath return to the field and give Reincarnation those four counters."

Wrath emerged from a shadowy pool of energy on the ground. Reincarnation's shadow danced in place, sending chills through everyone's spine.

"So, I have to hurry up and rid myself of your monster before he kills me. I activate the spell card Shield Crush. I added it into my deck just for you."

"I remove from play four Shadow Counters to activate my Trap Card, Shadow of the Falling Abyss. When you activate a Spell that targets a defense mode monster and would destroy it, I can discard a Shadow Templar to negate that spell and destroy it. Next, you take damage equal to that monster's defense!"

Shadows energetically bounced along the ground, taking the form of feral panthers. They tore through Nathaniel's body, tearing his Life Points down.

**Nathaniel 500**

"That card might have been a little too powerful."

"No," Nathaniel shook his head. "It's like Judgment of Anubis but with more restrictions, it should be fine."

"Yeah, but Anubis relies more on your opponent's strength than this card does. A card that turns your opponent's power against them is one thing, but this card is easier to take advantage of by boosting your own monster's defense first."

"Well, it doesn't matter. I'm," he examined his field. "I'm using Gale's effect to cut Vlad's stats in half."

"Hold it, before you do, let e warn you. Vlad has another effect. When you attack a defense mode monster, I can reduce his defense by 1000 to switch the attack to another defense mode monster."

"I see." Nathaniel ran through the scenarios in his head. "It seems that I have to attack, but at this point, Vlad will run me into a wall. I forfeit." Nathaniel began gathering all his cards. "I enjoyed dueling your deck." He lied. "The strategies involved were quite interesting."

"Yeah, but I'm worried that they get too much out of a low risk strategy," Lyra sighed.

Lyra's song began playing her favorite song, interrupting the conversation.

"_What would you say? If I said my heart wanted to break."_

"I'm sorry,' she apologized to Nathaniel. "That's Pegasus' phone number, I have to take it." She put her boss on speakerphone.

"Hello, Lyra-chan. How is everything back at the office," he said happily.

"Pretty well. Marlow's being a perv, John and Tex are up to their usual antics, Hazuki is being awesome as always, Shana's PMSing, and Nathaniel and I are testing our new decks."

"Fabulous. Forgive me for interrupting." He apologized.

"No, not at all, you're the boss. We're always glad to hear from you. Unless you're firing us," she joked. "Besides, we just finished. So, how is everything?"

Lyra could tell her boss was smiling. "I found three tablets that I'm sending over for translating. Once I get them back, I'd like you to be one of the people in charge of turning them into cards."

"Wha-what kind of tablets?" Lyra gasped. This kind of task was really rare and greatly sought after by the card designers.

"They are known as the Sealed Angels."


	4. The Chapter Where Nothing Really Happens

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX or Haruhi Suzumiya or Final Fantasy VIII**

**Gah, my spell check crapped out on me and isn't working at the moment, sorry.**

**No Spoilers warnings today, just a weird chapter.**

. . .

"I wonder what the cards are like!" Lyra squealed excitedly. "I can't believe he picked me as one of the three designers for the cards." She sat on a table in the conference room. She reached for a black bowl in front of her and began using chopsticks to pick pieces of orange chicken off a bed of friend rice.

"So, why are there so many sets of powerful cards that come in threes?" Nathaniel asked." Assuming these cards are indeed a powerful as we imagine." He took a hit of his burrito and began chewing slowly and carefully. _'One, two, three, four.'_

"How could they not be?" Marlow asked. He flipped another page in his dirty magazine. "You heard Pegasus' voice. He was super excited about this. I just want to know why he requested us specifically. I mean, Shana, Hazuki, and a few others are all our seniors. Don't they usually get priority whenever Pegasus requires a specific card be made?"

'_Nine, ten, eleven, twelve.'_

'_I hate carrots,' _Lyra thought as she chewed a bite of fried rice. _'Of course, peas are worse.' _She swallowed. "Gift horse, Marlow."

'_Seventeen, eighteen.' _

"Troy."

'_Nineteen, twenty.'_

"Well, we've probably earned his respect. Or his interest. Or something," Lyra stated. "So, we each get to pick stone tablet and create a card based on it. How will we pick?" She grabbed a large piece of chicken with her fingers and began chewing quickly, swallowing after only a few moments.

"Who says we each need our own? Sure, there are three tablets three of us, but we could all work together on each of them," Marlow suggested.

"True. But I think it would be more fun if we each gained control of a powerful card. I mean, only the best sets come in threes. The God Cards, the Jashin, the Sacred Beasts. Now we've got the Fallen Angels."

"Sealed Angels," Marlow corrected.

"Right!"

'_Thirty-two, thirty-three.'_

Marlow turned the page once more. _'Ho_ly shit!"He vocalized his thought.

"Something wrong?" Lyra asked. "Anything I'd be interested in?"

"Wait, are you saying you're," Marlow shook his head. "Anyway, it seems that our favorite pop-star has a naughty side." He slid the book across the table and into Lyra's eager left hand. Her right hand skillfully manipulated her chopsticks to tunnel a stream of orange chicken into her mouth.

. . .

"Ah-choo," Hazuki sneezed.

"Haruhi bless you," said the man on her phone. "So, is this true? Pegasus has found those tablets quicker than we expected. If all goes well then those cards will be the key to our grand plan."

"So, tell me Vincent, do you really think you'll get away with this? You planted those tablets for Pegasus to find and turn into cards, but you can't guarantee they'll be any good."

"Well, we can only hope. Besides, it's Star who really wants them. He hopes that he'll be able to use him to manipulate his opponent's actions."

"Has he chosen an opponent yet?" Hazuki asked.

"Yes, one by the name of Ryan Akimoto. A young boy who seems to have some talent, though he isn't anything special. The servants have faced him once before though. Not directly, but by proxy I mean."

"Ah yes, the Phantasmagoria. That was a fun night. I met some interesting people." Hazuki admitted.

"Oh, any chance one of those people will be your opponent?" Vincent asked.

"No, I'm choosing someone a little more personal. My dear Lyra Shiranagatani."

. . .

"Ah-choo," Lyra sneezed, splattering a bit of blood on Marlow's magazine. "Sorry." She passed it back.

"No problem," Marlow began reading the article, a slightly uncommon activity for him.

Lyra turned her attention back to her food and gobbled more it down. _'I'm still hungry,' _she thought as she looked at her empty bowl.

'_Fifty-seven, fifty-eight.'_

Marlow and Lyra turned to Nathaniel. "Anythingto add?" The sole female asked.

_'Sixty-one, sixty-two,' _he kept chewing.

Lyra sweat dropped. "So, ummm, like we were saying, how should we choose who gets what tablet?"

_'Wow, she looks really hot!' _Marlow tore his eyes from the page. "Ummm, well, I think we should toll a die or something. Whoever gets the highest card can pick first. Anyway, I need to go use the bathroom," he said as he rushed toward the door.

_'Roll a die, highest card, someone's a little insane, crap,' _thought Nathaniel. _'I lost count, ummm, fifty-seven, fifty-eight.'_

"Ummmm," Lyra sat in silence.

. . .

Hazuki sighed as she sat leaning against her desk. She drummed her fingers on her clipboard, rhythmically tapping to the tune of the hit song, Dark Magician- Thousand Nightmares Elegy. "What do I want to make today?" She stared at her blank computer screen. She had opened a file of unused art. These were all her drawings that she hadn't created cards for yet.

Some designers focused only on art, some created the cards, some did both. Regardless of which you were, there were two basic ways to operate. Create a card for the art, or create the art for the card. Hazuki swung both ways. She looked over her work, searching for inspirations. She saw various landscapes, a cliff overlooked a calm sea, water barraged the docks as a helpless fisherman ran fleeing from a storm, dawn brought light to a barren wasteland as ghosts and ghouls dashed away in terror, and a tall pagoda reached for the sky.

"Maybe I should try making monster cards instead." She clicked on another file and watched it open up for her. Pictures of young, beautiful, and fully clothed women appeared before her. One had long blonde hair and wore a red miko robe with detached sleeves. Another wore a beautiful black kimono and carried a blue fan that matched her hair. _'Her hair would look better in a ponytail,_' Hazuki decided as she eyed the blunette's curly hair. "I wonder what kind of weapons I should give them."

She clicked a few more buttons and began typing words onto a screen.

**Wind Dancer-Cecelia**

**(4) Wind/Warrior**

**1400/1000**

**When a Wind Dancer decalres an attack, you may discard 1 Spell from your hand to the graveyard to make that attack a direct attack.**

She smiled as the ideas rushed into her head.

**Wind Dancer- Rinoa**

**(4) Wind/Warrior**

**1300/1200**

**When a Wind Dancer attacks your opponent directly, it gains 500 Attack Points during the damage step only.**

_'I hope we can license the rights to use Rinoa, she's one of my favorite Final fantasy characters.' _

**Wind Dancer- Amara**

**(4) Wind/Warrior**

**When a Wind Dancer attacks directly, select one Spell in your graveyard and shuffle it into your deck.**

. . .

_'Eighty-seven, eighty-eight.'_

The door yawned open as Marlow returned to his seat with a smile on his face.

"Please tell me you didn't do what I just thought you did," Lyra begged.

"I had to pee," he insisted. He noticed something unusual. Lyra was sitting cross legged while munching away on a chocolate granola bar. "Hey, that's my Red Eyes Energy Bar! I was saving it for later!" He dashed to his bag in the corner and unzipped it quickly. Indeed his energy bar was missing. A bright red blush appeared on his face as he realized that Lyra had been through his bag.

Lyra immediately identified the source of his embarrassment. "Who the hell keeps their candy in the same bag as their dirty gym clothes. It's disgusting." She chewed another bite, enjoying the chocolaty goodness of the world's most popular energy bar. "I'm thirsty," she reached for a soda can beneath her chair and popped the tab open.

"Hey, that's my Kaiba Cola," Marlow protested.

Soda sprayed itself all over the room, like a geyser. It soaked Lyra, leaving her with a look of disappointment.

Nathaniel sighed at his coworkers antics. _'Ninety-nine, one-hundred.' _He swallowed, immediately earning their attention. "Why are we even meeting? It isn't like we can actually do anything until we get the tablets."

"True," they both agreed.

Nathaniel took another bite of his burrito. _'One, two, three.'_


	5. Lyra eats Lunch, Again

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh or GX or Naruto, Bleach, Liar Game**

**Hey, I'm hungry so shut up!**

**Ummm, no more spoilers. A bit of a stand-alone chapter. I just felt that this would be a decent way to reveal more about Lyra's personality and how the employees operate.**

**This Chapter is dedicated to ghost, who, at the moment, is my only reviewer.**

. . .

Broken glass shimmered in the night, reflecting dancing rays of moonlight upon the scene. A dead body rested in a pool of blood. His red stained fingertips pointed to his dying message, a name smeared on the cold marble floor, _Aryl._

"You're name backwards?" John leaned in over his coworker's shoulder and stared at her computer screen. "Is this part of the new card you were working on? The Murder Mistress?"

It had been two days since the call from Pegasus. John, Lyra, and Tex had agreed to meet for lunch. John and Lyra both showed up. Tex had not.

John bit into his cheeseburger. Ketchup squirted onto his white t-shirt, making him frown.

Lyra hid a smile as she watched the growing display of frustration on John's face. "So, where's Tex? I thought he was meeting us here for lunch. I don't see him." She looked around the food court. Happy teens ate lunch with their dates, adults rushed about trying to get back to work before their lunch hour was over, and others took their time enjoying a bite before returning to their shopping.

A young seventeen-year-old boy with curly white hair sat at a nearby table, eating a sub sandwich. Lyra could hear the crunching as he bit into the fresh tomatoes and crisp lettuce. She could smell the temptation in cheese form. _'Sharp cheddar,' _she thought, her mouth filled with drool.

"Lyra, you there?" John asked.

Lyra snapped to attention. "Yeah, sorry, that sandwich looks so good." She looked down at the remains of her finished lunch. Crumbs from her fish speckled a paper plate dotted with grains of white rice. Stains of tartar sauce and drops of lemon juice sent their scents into the air, reminding Lyra of the lunch she had just finished. "I'm hungry; can I have some of your fries?" She didn't wait for an answer; she just leaned over for his food.

"Ummm, sure," he mumbled. His voice was drowned out by the crowd's. "So, what inspired these cards anyway? They don't seem like most of your normal ones."

"Well, it's umm," she fiddled her thumbs. "You see that boy over there?" She pointed to sandwich boy. John nodded. The unsuspecting teen kept eating his food. "Well, you see."

**I ACTIVATE FLASHBACK! **

Lyra sighed as she searched through the bookstore. "Where is it?" She looked through rows of shelves, dragging her feet excitedly across the red carpet. Various manga decorated the shelves; she saw Naruto, Bleach, Liar Game, DMG Heart Rave, and a bunch of others. "Where is it? I know I stuck it right between Naruto and Liar Game."

"You looking for this?" A white haired boy asked. He pointed to the manga in his hand, Shining Dragon: Blue-Eyes Kaiba Volume 17. "You can take it if you want. I was going to buy it, but I can just read it online."

"Yeah, where'd you find it? I hid it here yesterday because I didn't have any money!" Lyra squealed with joy, thanks so much," she hugged the stranger.

"You know, you could have just put it on hold," he told her.

"No, I couldn't. There's a ten-book limit. And I already ten on hold." The boy's eyes drifted toward the three books Lyra held in her hand. Master Magician: Dark Magician Yugi Volume 24, Screeching Mistress: Harpy Lady Mai Volume 6, and Saint Magician: Anzu the Holy Volume 10.

"Wow, you really like manga don't you?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm a total addict. I love all sorts of manga, though duel manga is my favorite. Of course, my all time favorite duel manga has to be Iris Blade. I love the main character, Zachary. He's so cute."

"I like him too. I cosplayed as him last year, for this Duel Convention."

"So, what's your favorite manga?" Lyra asked, wondering what the answer would be. Would he be into something psychological? An action story? Romance perhaps?

"I like anything involving murders. I'm a gruesome person at heart. I keep hoping they'll come up with some sort of murder themed card in Duel Monsters. Something that uses tricks and tactics to weaken opponent's before killing them off."

"Wow, that's kind of…"

"Twisted? Yeah, I suppose it is. I especially like the kinds where the bad guys prey on the weak. Then, when someone more powerful then them comes along, they squeal in fear. I don't know why, but I think it sort of purges my violent tendencies."

"Most people just join a sports team," Lyra pointed out.

**I USE MYSTICAL SPACE TYPHOON TO DESTROY FLASHBACK!**

"He seems like… a nice person," John tried to shake the feeling of oddity in his stomach. "I, wow, just wow." He turned back to his food. "Hey, no fair using ninja skills to steal my fries while I'm distracted by your flashback."

"All is fair in love and war. And I LOVE your fries. Therefore, mathematically speaking, the transitive property dictates that it is indeed fair of me to steal your friend."

"I'd love to prove your logic wrong, but I have the feeling you won't bother listening." John dipped some of his fries into a pile of ketchup and swirled them around, gathering bits of sprinkled pepper.

"Well, I submitted the cards for approval for mass production, but I printed a few cards out. I wanted to give them to him as a thank you."

She looked at her new card.

**Murder Mistress- Aryl**

**(7) Dark/Warrior**

**1500/0**

**When this card destroys a monster with less than 1000 attack, place 1 Murder Counter on this card. This card gain 1000 attack for each Murder Counter on it. When this card is destroyed, you receive 500 damage for each Murder Counter on it.**

Lyra looked at the card. It looked like an evil version of herself. Aryl had pale skin and blonde hair, and wore a blood stained white kimono. Kimono had been very popular lately; many cards wore them lately. "It's also got a few support cards for reducing your opponent's monsters to low attack scores. There are even a few that summon weak monsters to your opponent's field. I'm hoping their approved. I used them in a duel against Marlow. I did pretty well but he still beat me. That damned Dark Armed Dragon he came up with. It's even more annoying than those stupid Lightsworns Hazuki made. Oh who am I kidding, I only wish I could come up with something so cool."

"Yeah, the Lightsworns are probably going to be major players in the meta. Special Summoning is really popular right now. Almost as popular as removed from play."

"Hey, speaking of that, do you really think they're going to ban Soul Absorption? I hope so. It's getting annoying when someone combos that with Necroface. It just drives me insane!" Lyra complained. She glanced at the boy. "Oh crap, he's about to leave." She shot out of her chair. "Hey wait up!"

He spun toward her. "Oh, it's you, from the other day. How are you?"

Lyra began blushing. "I ummm, I wanted to thank you for the other day. You see, I work for Industrial illusions. I made these for you." She handed over and envelope. "They're still being approved for mass production. If they make it, they'll probably be included in the Fading Agony Expansion Pack that comes out in six months. If not, then they'll just get locked away. But, either way, you're free to use them."

"Really? Thanks," he said, not sure how to properly respond. "Hey, wanna go get dinner sometime."

"Umm, uhh sure."

John smiled as he watched the display.

"Oh who is this? Does our little Miss Shiranagatani have date?" Tex approached the scene from the opposite direction.

"Where have you been? You're late," John complained.

"Oh, no where, I just had to go pick something up for my girlfriend. Apparently I'm not the only one who's late."

. . .

**A little scattered but I think I actually enjoy it this way. This is, after all, just a side story. It's kind of relaxing really.**

**So, Lyra has a new love interest, Tex may be having a child, and we're still waiting on those cards. What will happen next time.**


	6. The Gravity of the Situation

**Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh or GX**

**I have no clue how many cards come in a Duel Monster Expansion Pack. It's been a while since I've bought any Yu-Gi-Oh cards either.**

**Not much this time either…in fact, I think most chapters will fit that not much category while I build their personalities. But I do like how I'm revealing tiny details about Broken Dreams and the other series I have.**

**. . .**

"I hate having two jobs!" Hazuki whined as she collapsed to the floor. She rubbed her hands through the soft carpet, wishing she could sink in it forever, like falling into an eternal hug of pure bliss.

"What's wrong?" Shana asked with a sigh.

"I'm supposed to come up with the theme song to this new Anime called The Sandborne. They specifically requested me and asked if I could write something that fits the theme of the show."

"Wow, I thought most anime just used existing songs." Shana stated. She glanced over at Hazuki's computer. She had come over intending to check the progress of Hazuki's new archetype. Things looked like they were going well.

"Normally, yes, but there are exceptions. I've been trying to split my attention between the archetype and the song writing, but I seem to have some sort of block. I mean, I have only seven cards and no real support for them." She held up a few pieces of cardboard. "I really like these cards and I want them to be good. I hope they do well."

"Most of your archetypes do, I'm sure you have nothing to worry about. In fact, things seem to be looking up for the new cards. Lyra's Murder Mistress was just approved, along with a bunch of other new cards. There's even talk of releasing the new expansion packs sooner and in groups of two at once."

"Really? What about the public? How can they afford to keep up with new boosters coming out at a faster rate?" Hazuki's head perked up, waiting for an answer.

"Simple, these boosters will be cheaper than most, and they'll even have eleven cards instead of the usual nine. Anyway, if they agree to this, it means Fading Agony and Blistering Insanity will be coming out in two months instead of six, and then it'll only be another two months before the next two packs. We just have so many back cards right now; it isn't funny. I2 wants to try to use some of them quickly so we can all clear our heads."

"Okay," Hazuki sighed. "Hey, wanna have some fun? I just built a new deck and I haven't tested it out yet. Want to duel?"

"Well, I did just finish my new archetype, I haven't had the chance to it yet," Shana activated her Duel Disk. "Let the duel commence."

"First move if I may?" Hazuki drew six cards. "Now let's see what you'll have to face. Since I have no monsters I can summon the Level Six Gravibeast Tyrannobull Dragon in attack mode." (2300/1100) "And I don't even have to use any sacrifices. Now, there is a downside to make things fair. Find a monster in your hand and Special Summon it to the field!" A tall snarling beast materialized on the Pop Star's field. Drool fell to the floor and splashed into large puddles. The dragon dinosaur crossbreed had a wingspan of over six feet and sharp bullike horns. It dug one of its claws into the ground and snorted a puff of smoke at Shana.

"I summon Punishment Angel- Unremb Illrek." (1900/1000) "When Special Summoned by an opponent's effect, I am allowed to choose any card on your side of the field and destroy it." An angel in black armor hovered above Shana's head. Its hands stretched out in prayer as a fierce wind picked up and began dancing around the room. The angel's long blond hair tossed in the building storm. Tyrannobull Dragon dug his claws into the ground and tried to weather the storm, but the angel's wrath was too much, he shattered away into pixels.

"Now that my Gravibeast has been destroyed," Hazuki grabbed her card and tossed it to Shana, "He finds his way into your hand." The confused duelist accepted the strange gift with a smile. "Now I'll set two cards face down and end my turn."

"I'll draw. And I summon Punishment Angel- Arswm Umrred." (1600/1000) A similarly armored blunette angel stood next to its partner. "While I control this angel I can't summon more than one card a turn except by your effect. However, if you summon more than one card a turn by something other than my effect, you'll face my wrath as Arswm gains 1000 attack points."

"I see, Anti-Meta huh? They both do well against decks that Special Summon many monsters. So, are they all against Special Summoning or do they punish other actions as well?" Hazuki faked a smile. _'Really? Calling it punishment sounds so wrong. It's like you're saying, stop having fun or something. Then again I guess I understand the cards' origins.'_

"I remember these cards now," Shana laughed as she looked at the Gravibeast in her hand. Lyra designed them, right? They were supposed to come out during Glory of the Divine but they were delayed until Fading Agony. They're still not mass-produced yet though you did get a few copies of them. They focused on swarm tactics right? Well, be careful or else my Arswm will annihilate you."

"True. The Gravibeasts can easily swarm the field all at once with the right card. If I do that, you could have your monster gain as much as 4000 attack points in one swift move. But, there's no use worrying about it now. Are you attacking?"

"First of all, I'll have my Unremb strike you directly," Shana ordered. Her blonde warrior drew a sword from a sheath at its side. Golden wings unfurled as it flew forward, swinging at Hazuki's unguarded body.

"I swarm the field with four tokens, go, Scapegoat!" Hazuki smiled as four sheep tokens appeared between her and Shana's monsters. Unremb quickly sliced through one. Hazuki frowned as she heard a squeal of pain, but she didn't pay it much attention. She was already planning to avenge it.

"Four tokens in one turn. Arswm gains 3000 Attack. Too bad it can't inflict piercing damage. Go, destroy the blue one." Arswm grabbed a bow from its side and fired an arrow at the helpless Sheep Token. "I'll set one card and end my turn."

Hazuki drew and smiled. "Shana, how about we make an interesting wager?"

. . .

"I have a date," Lyra squealed as she returned to her table. "Oh hey, Tex, you're finally here. Where have you been?" She glanced at his shopping bag with curiosity.

"Sorry, my girlfriend called me with some important news and asked me to pick something up for her," he explained. "I figured that since I was there I might as well pick up a few other things anyway. Oh that reminds me, I have something for you," he reached into his bag and withdrew a chocolate muffin. "As an apology for keeping you waiting."

"I love you Tex!" She cried excitedly as she threw her arms around her coworker. "You're the best!"

"Hey, where's my apology?" John asked.

"Sorry for being late," Tex added bluntly.

. . .

"I summon Gravibeast Rhinoram Sasquatch!" An ape like monster with white fur and three thick horns began to beat its fists against its chest. (1600/1400) "When this card is summoned, gravity kicks in and we both draw 1 card." Hazuki gained a new card and a smile.

"I Special Summon Punishment Angel- Reged Drac." (2100/0) "It can't be normal summoned but it can be Special Summoned whenever you draw a card outside of your draw phase, as long as it was by your own card's effect." A raven haired angel joined the other two.

"Wow, looks like these guys will find something wrong with anything. Well, that doesn't matter. "Forgive me, my dear Gravibeast! I order you to attack Unremb." The Gravibeast smiled as it charged forward on a suicidal mission. It took great effort on the angel's part, but he was able to properly punish Rhinoram for his hubris.

**Hazuki: 3700**

"Of course this means the Gravibeast goes to your hand." Hazuki said with a smile." And now you have two of those in your hand! So I activate the facedown trap card Gravity Magnet Flare! By paying half my life Points I can look at your hand and Special Summon any Gravibeast I find there!" A large magnet appeared on Hazuki's field as it began drawing energy directly from her.

**Hazuki: 1850**

Her two monsters reappeared on her field, giving Arswm a 2000 point power boost. Hazuki grinned. "I'm playing them in defense mode of course. Now, here is the fun part. Since I got them from your hand, their other effects kick in. Rhinoram inflicts 500 points of damage to your Life Points.

For a second, Shana could feel gravity intensify.

**Shana: 3500**

"But that's not too important. Tyrannobull allows me to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from my hand."

She selected her card and threw it down.

"Of course, my monster gains 1000 Attack points." Shana smiled as her monster jumped to 7600 Attack Points. "You're just digging your grave, Hazuki. You can stop whenever you want you know."

A flash of light signaled the arrival of Hazuki's monster. Shana registered the fear in her heart once she recognized its form. It took everything she had not to register the fear on her face. "That's not a Gravibeast."

"You're not the only one who understands Meta." Hazuki suppressed a laugh. Her female warrior pointed her sword at Arswm. (1500/1600) "When Amazoness Swords Woman is in a battle, my opponent takes all damage I would have received. I put this deck together specifically for the purpose of annihilating Arswm. I'll have to thank Nathaniel for telling me your cards secrets."

"But, there's no way! You didn't even know I'd be testing the cards out today," Shana protested.

"Of course you would. It's not that hard to tell when a fellow co-worker printed some cards out. And we all know that you just love to test your cards out ASAP. So there's no way you wouldn't have used them once I challenged you to a duel." Hazukoi snapped her fingers." Amazoness end this!"


	7. Dead or Alive

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own YuGiOh or GX or Touhou**

**Hmmm, this story is turning out a bit more serious than I imagined, not that it's strictly a bad thing. After all, yay backstory!**

. . .

Another day had passed. Shana walked around gloomily, waiting for her boss to return. "He said he'd be back today. Really though, I wish he'd let us know before taking off on one of his little trips. Sure he needs fresh material to keep the game interesting, but a little heads up would be nice."

"Do we even need these cards anyway? You know what the old designers always said; powerful cards are risky and fun, just try to keep them down to one. A duo of two can be fine as well; rivalries between them keep the cards' story swell. But when your powerful cards come in a group of three, expect nothing but anguish and misery."

The lights flickered as Hazuki snapped her paper fan open. Beautiful roses decorated the beautiful contraption. "The God Cards, the Sacred Beasts, you all know the drill."

"We're back!" A loud extravagant voice announced.

"Oh great, Yosuya's back," Shana slammed her head against the desk.

Pegasus walked in, wearing a new red suit and designer shoes. Next to him stood a young woman with long white hair, pale skin, and a crimson business suit very similar to the boss'.

"So you were with Pegasus all this time," commented Lyra. "We all thought you had gotten drunk and stayed home from work again."

"I told all of you that would only happen once," Yosuya cried with a sigh.

Hazuki crossed her arms and growled. "So, Pegasus took you with him, huh?" She strutted towards the snow haired beauty and stared her in the eyes. She leaned in close, letting her warm breath wash over Yosuya's face.

'_The UST is getting a bit choking,' _Lyra thought as she watched the scene unfold. _'Everyone knows Hazuki has a major crush on Yosuya, but she always acts like this around her, like she wants to tear Yosuya's throat out.'_

Lyra dashed forward and stuck her head in between the two women. "Hey, Yosuya, how's Ryou doing?" A huge smile broke out on her face like a bad rash. "Did he like the new cards I made for him?"

"You know, your crush on my son is becoming more and more evident everyday," Yosuya teased. "Don't worry Lyra, he loved the cards. He said to tell you thank you. So, has anyone seen our dear Edgeworth? I've been waiting for a chance to see him all day."

"He took the day off to visit his friend's grave," Tex told her. "He said it was the anniversary of the day they made the Raven Blasters together." The man began stroking the stubble on his chin.

"I don't have a crush on Ryou!" Lyra protested belatedly.

Hazuki smiled. "The fact that the accusation stunned you into silence and delayed your reaction suggests otherwise," the pop star teased. "That and the fact that you made him those Mia cards and never submitted them for mass production. Or that you gave him Destiny Rose Dragon even though it isn't scheduled to be released until Fading Agony. You really do seem to think about him a lot."

Yosuya laughed. "Well, he said he can't wait to use the new cards you have him in a duel. He's hoping they'll help him out when he returns to Duel Academia this year. Well sorry to abandon you all so soon, I need to go finish up the Core Chimails." Yosuya walked off with a smug grin.

Hazuki hid her mixed emotions well. _'God I hate that bitch._

Lyra turned her attention to Pegasus. "So, Mr. Crawford, are the tablets still being translated? I can't wait to see what they look like. I promise I'll be doing my best to make a good card."

"I'm sure you'll do a fantastic job Lyra-chan. But the tablets won't be ready for another week. It seems there's some problems with the translation. Our best scholars are trying but they can't seem to identify the language being used. It's quite odd really. The tablets were discovered in China, but they seem to be written in some strange language nobody can identify." Pegasus offered a warm smile. "But I'm more interested in finding out what it was you wanted to tell me. Shana says you were eager to tell me something."

"Oh yes, Tex and John gave me the idea. What if we revolutionized the world of Dueling by creating motorcycles for Duelists to duel on? You know, throw in a built in autopilot and let duelists duke it out while they feel the wind in their hair."

"That sounds brilliant Lyra! I love it. We'll get out scientists to work on it right away. Shana, contact the team! I want these motorcycles functioning as soon as possible. Tell them that I want it done by Christmas."

. . .

Tex and John sat at their desks, working on their latest cards. "You know, everyone seems so caught up in making archetypes lately that we haven't had much of a chance to increase support for some of the older cards." Tex stated. "It's kind of sad."

"I know," John agreed. "That's why I'm trying to come up with some new support for the Guardians. They used to be one of the most powerful Meta Decks in the game, but now it seems like nobody uses them anymore."

"Except Rafael. He's still consistently winning tournaments with that deck," Tex said with a smile. "Though he did come in second place against Rebecca in that one tournament last year. She's been getting really good with that new deck of hers. She even beat Leon in their rematch."

"Really? That's amazing. My brother used to be such a big fan of hers," John said with a smile. "Hey, what do you think of this card? Moon Slicing Katana- Youmu. The monster equipped with this card gains 1000 Attack points for every card your opponent controls and loses 1000 Attack Points for every card you control. Any battle damage inflicted by the equipped monsters is reduced by one half."

"Sounds fairly interesting, though it loses 2000 attack points immediately and your opponent would need to have at least three cards to make it any good. Of course, if your opponent has a decent number of cards, then it could end up being a deadly card, especially when used on the right monster. Perhaps Maha Vailo, so it still gains a further 500 Points after the drawback."

"Thanks, now I just need to come up with the Guardian for it."

. . .

Yosuya sat at her desk, spinning around in her revolving chair. _'Someone needs to improve the designs on these things so they can spin faster,' _she thought to herself. Her work remained on her deck unfinished. A sheet of paper covered in card ideas flapped around as Yosuya spun. She was one of the few employees who wrote her ideas down on paper first, and then transferred them to her computer. Of course, she always remembered to recycle once she was done.

She kicked off the ground as hard as she could and sent her chair into a frenzied whirlwind. _'Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!'_

Hazuki watched wordlessly, her anger died in her throat and turned into a laugh.

"Shut up, you know you'd be doing the same thing to if you had a revolving office chair," Yosuya said with a stern glare.

"True, but I'm me. I'm the one with the youthful and innocent heart. You're the psycho bitch who likes driving people insane. Always complaining about things, never taking work seriously, and the fact that you probably only got this job by sleeping with Pegasus."

"I have no idea where that rumor came from," Yosuya protested. "I mean, sure I'd sleep my way to the top if I could, but Pegasus hasn't even dated anyone since his wife died." She kept spinning. "Wheee! Hey, Hazuki, you know what song you should do a cover of?"

"Yeah, totally," Hazuki agreed with a smile. In fact, she'd have been singing it right now if it weren't for copyright laws. "So, is it true that The Fortune Ladies made even Marlow blush before the censors got to them?"

"Totally," Yosuya dug her feet into the carpet. "I feel dizzy," she said.

"I'd expect so," Hazuki said.

"So, my dear pop star, what brings you here? I know this isn't just for fun."

Hazuki frowned. "Tell your son to be careful during the upcoming school year. Things are going to get really bad."

"I'm sure he can handle it. He has Emi on his side. Besides, with Yuu handling things from his side, nothing you guys do will be any problem to anyone," Yosuya said with a smile.

"You really are insane. Your son could end up getting hurt you know."

"Would you prefer I lock him up 24/7. With the right friends on his side, he'll be able to handle anything. I'm not worried about him."

"And what if he has the wrong friends on his side? Tell him to beware the temptress. The siren's song can not be trusted."

"Ohhh, spooky. Your vague message makes me want to pee my pants."

"Say, Yosuya. You look bored. How about we duel?"

Yosuya's Duel Disk sprung into action before Hazuki could finish her sentence.


	8. Violent Violets or Something FlowerLike

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX**

**or Final fantasy VII**

**or Alice in Wonderland**

**or Digimon**

**or Pok****é****mon  
**

**Warning, this chapter contains sexual dialogue of a vulgar nature  
**

**~.~.~.~.~**

**Ultimate Showdown**

**Yosuya vs Hazuki**

"I draw six cards and end my turn," Yosuya announced as she picked up six cards from her deck.

"Let me guess," Hazuki said with a smile. "You have Gorz and you're just waiting for me to attack so you can unleash your powerful monster and go in for the kill." She held a prayer on her tongue as she drew her sixth card. _'Come on, Sephiroth, pull me through this.'_ She looked at her card, it was exactly what she wanted, Card Destruction. With this, she could get rid of Gorz easily.

"Or maybe I just wanted you to think that because I have a bunch of Dark World cards in my hand and I want you to use your broken top decking skills to draw Card Destruction to get rid of the Gorz I don't have." Yosuya smiled like a whore.

"As if you'd say that if it were actually true," Hazuki countered.

"You know me, I love to mind rape people. Oh and besides, maybe I actually do have Gorz _and _a few Dark World cards." Yosuya retaliated. "Ever think of that?" She smirked sedulously.

"True, you do love to screw with people's heads as much as you love to screw with....men." Hazuki admitted.

"Yep, I sure do love screwing, Ms. Pot." Yosuya maintained her sedulous smile.

"Hey, I'll have you know I am a virgin."

"You're not fooling anyone, honey."

"It's true."

"Sure it is."

At this point, the commotion attracted the attention of several of their coworkers. Tex, John, and Marlow were all watching intently. "Really?" Marlow asked, braving the chance of retaliation. "You're hot, so it isn't like you can't get a boyfriend. You're old enough. Based on that one magazine you appeared in, you certainly aren't shy."

"My-my sex life, or lack there of is none of your business!" Hazuki shrieked. "And just because I'm comfortable about my body doesn't mean I'm going to disrespect it."

Yosuya let out a long drawn out yawn. "Could we get back to the duel please?"

**Hazuki 4000**

**Yosuya 4000**

Hazuki growled as she selected two cards and slapped them down. The Duel Disk hummed as the Solid Vision produced two cards between her and Yosuya. **"**Next I summon a monster card known as Blue Winged Crown!" (1600/1200) The Duels Disk let out a shriek as a blue bird appeared to greet the dueling women. It had beautiful blue feathers and a majestic orange tail."

"A low attack normal monster? Either you've got an equip card or you've been having fun with fusions again." Yosuya commented.

"Don't we all?" Hazuki stated. It was true, lately the team had been coming up with new fusions for old cards, such as Judgeman + Beautiful Headhuntress = Holy Executioner-Empress Judge! (That one was Marlow's doing.) Hazuki grinned. "Of course, there may be the possibility I just have her out to lure you into attacking so that I may spring my trap on you. Turn endo." She said.

"Don't talk like that. You aren't Japanese," Yosuya scolded.

"Yes I am," Hazuki said with narrowed eyes.

"Well, you know what I mean."

"Since when is it like you to judge others on what they do for fun?" Hazuki demanded.

"It isn't. When are you going to learn that I'm having fun messing with you?"

Tex laughed at the obvious look of frustration plastered on Hazuki's normally beautiful face. John smiled as Yosuya reached for her next card, he was enjoying the banter but couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Marlow was just busy staring at Yosuya's boobs.

"I activate Heavy Storm!" Yosuya announced as she presented her spell card to Hazuki. The younger duelist growled as she slipped her traps away. Yosuya laughed as the audio produced the shattering sfx for the cards she had destroyed. "Now your cards are gone and your monster is defenseless...I end my turn."

Hazuki growled. She was upset that Yosuya wasn't taking the duel very seriously. In fact, she was acting like it was just a ... a game! Then again...it sort of was. Hazuki shook her head and pushed all negative thoughts aside. "I summon Consecrated Light in defense mode!" (0/0) A shining ball of light illuminated the field. A pink face within the light stared cutely at Yosuya and smiled. "While she's on the field you can't summon any Dark monsters. SO no more Gorz!" Hazuki pointed a finger at Yosuya and grinned wildly. "Ummm, yeah, whatever your name is birdy, go get her."

Yosuya clicked her tongue. "Bad duelist. You should treat your cards with love and respect and always remember their name. Besides, what kind of card creator can't keep the card's names straight?"

Blue Winged Crown unfurled her wings and soared toward the ceiling before swooping down with a merciless shriek. She clawed Yosuya's unguarded torso, taking a fair deal of Life Points with her.

**Yosuya: 2400**

"Since I control no cards and I was just took damage," Yosuya began with a grin. She reached for two cards**, "**I Special Summon Gorz the Emissary of Wetness (2400/2200) and Gorz the Blustery Emissary!" (2100/1200)

Hazuki face palmed as she was greeted by Gorz' palette swapped buddies. "You have got to be kidding me."

"Emissary of Wetness?" Marlow questioned. "Is my mind the only one going to the gutter?"

"Normally I'd agree," Tex began, "but this is Yosuya we're talking about."

"I think the name was chosen just to sound non-threatening," John shared.

Hazuki just shook her head.

Gorz had grown very popular recently, despite having been around for awhile. Nathaniel had designed new artwork for it, featuring the Emissary in a battle stance reminiscent of the hero in the poster for the popular movie, Vorpal Executioner II: Fatal Annihilation. Most of the team had seen the movie together, and they all loved it. Nathaniel had made the new card for fun and it had become immensely popular. Due to this, as well as the popularity of certain other Dark monsters, coughdarkarmeddragoncough Nathaniel had proceeded to create Consecrated Light, a card designed to prevent the Special Summoning of Dark monsters.

"I knew you'd have that card in your deck just in case I possessed a copy of Gorz, so I went and created his brethren." Yosuya explained. "Now their effects activate. My emissary of Wetness can recover Life Points for me. All I have to do is select 1 monster you control of one in yoru garveyard and I get his or her attack. I choose your, little, bird thing," she said, unsure of the creature's name. "It's not much, but it helps."

**Yosuya: 4000**

"Now my Blustery Emissary activates his effect. I can choose one card on your field and return it to the top of your deck. So I pick Consecrated Light!**" **The green Gorz began spinning his blade around, generating a funnel of win that blasted the ball of light away.

"I set two cards and end my turn." Hazuki said with a grimace.

Yosuya drew her card and smiled. "I activate the Spell Card, Devil's Sanctuary. This card lets me summon a Metal Fiend Token!" (0/0) "But he won't be staying around for long. I offer both him and my Blustery Emissary to summon BlackWarGreymon!"

Hazuki shuddered as a black tornado swept the two monsters away. there was a loud bang and an explosion of light. She shielded her eyes for a moment, but knew what she would find when she peaked at Yosuya's field. BlackWarGreymon was an antagonist from the Digimon anime. he had black skin and silver armor, with vicious claws and enough power to fend off the entire main team single handedly. (Then again, what proper villain didn't?)

Yosuya smiled at her newest card. (4500/2000) "Yes, I realize his stats are powerful, but he's essentially the Level 10 version of Goblin Attack Force. Once he attacks, he gets switched to defense position, and he can't manually change out for one whole turn. So now, go, BlackWarGreymon, Hyper Beam!" BlackWarGreymon opened his mouth and fired a beam of concentrated light directly at Hazuki's turkey.

"Did the Digital Monster just use a Pocket Monster's move?" Tex asked.

Hazuki merely snapped her fingers loudly as one of her trap card's revealed itself. "Go, Trap Card, Hallucinogen Mirror!"

BlackWarGreymon shattered like he himself was a mirror, only to reappear on Hazuki's field. "When a Level 4 or Lower Monster I control is attacked by a Level 7 or higher monster, I can destroy the attacking monster and Special Summon him to my field."

"I activate the Quickplay Spell, Magician's Speedy Study. This turn, I can activate Normal Spell Cards during my battle phase, so I play Owner's Seal and regain control of my BlackWarGreymon," Yosuya explained. "Go, again, Iron Claw!" Yosuya pointed forward. BlackWarGreymon quickly lumbered to Yosuya's side of the field before strutting back to Hazuki's and swiping at the bird.

Hazuki smiled despite the pain. Blue Winged Crown shattered, and the force of BlackWarGreymon's Iron Claw attacked sent shockwaves that tore over her body.

**Hazuki: 1100**

BlackWarGreymon entered a crouching position, signaling his switch into defense mode.**  
**

"Looks like Yosuya wins." Tex concluded. "Hazuki would have probably activated that card by now if it could have helped."

"I don't know," Marlow rubbed his chin in deep thought. "Hazuki has been known to turn things around before."

"Even if she survives this turn, she's only getting Consecrated Light next turn. It won't do much good."

"Go," Yosuya began, "Go, my Emissary of Wetness attack Hazuki directly."

"Bad move," Hazuki activated her final face down. "Emergency Defense Formation activate. When you declare an attack and I control no monster,s I pick up cards from my deck until i get a card that can be normal summoned. I then play it in defense mode. The bad news is this cards deals me 300 damage per card I pick up before I get that monster, and they're all sent to the grave. the good news is that it doesn't matter. I Special Summon Consecrated Light!"(0/0) Hazuki smiled triumphantly as her ball of light appeared and took the blow for her.

"My move," Hazuki drew a card. "Damn, I really hoped I could win this, but alas, that won't be happening." She raised her final card into the air before slapping it down. "I activate Luminious Rhapsody. This card destroys a Dark monster on the field and deals both players damage equal to that monster's attack!"

Yosuya chuckled as she watched glowing lights surround her monster and slam into him. "Looks like we've dueled to a draw again," she said.

**Yosuya: 0**

**Hazuki: 0**

"Indeed it does," Hazuki agreed as the holograms faded. "I swear to you I will beat you one day."

"And like I keep saying, I wasn't even trying my hardest." Yosuya grinned as she walked away, knowing that Hazuki was mad as hell.


	9. Something that Sounds Mysterious & Evil

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX**

**or Card Captor Sakura or Code Geass  
**

**Ore no Turn! **

**Manzentaru Nihongo Nansensu**

Zach sipped his bottled water as he stared at the grave before him. "Hey, how are you?" he asked. "Sorry I'm late, I couldn't find any good flowers, so I just gave up and came here empty handed, I hope you don't mind.**" **He chuckled as he squatted on the wild grass. "The groundskeepers really need to take better care of this place. I'd cut the grass myself, but I don't think they'd appreciate some strange guy doing that here. of course, given the nature of friendship and death, perhaps they'd understand."

**"**Wow, you two sure are having the most boring conversation ever," said a voice behind him.

"Sorry," Zach apologized. He stood up and turned around. "I guess I'm just not very good at this."

"I make fun of you while you're speaking to an important friend and you apologize to me?" The speaker smiled. He had light blue feathered hair and wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt with a picture on it. Zach gazed at it for a moment, wondering where someone could get such a shirt. It showed Sakura Kinomoto of Car Captor Sakura dressed in C.C.'s bondage outfit from Code Geass. Something about it seemed wholly inappropriate.

"Sorry," Zach apologized. "I just find it hard to be angry when I'm this down."

"You really do seem down," the teen admitted. "Something on your mind besides your friend. You seem like there's something else."

"Well, my friend had two children before they died. I can't help but wonder where they are now." Zach told the teen. "It's been years since then. They were just babies when it happened. I wonder if they even know about each other."

"Why didn't you adopt them yourself?" The teenager plopped himself down on the grass.

"I was only a kid when it happened. I was around, nine or something." Zach laughed. "Believe me, I would have if I'd been given the chance."

"Oh I understand. So, how did you know him. Was he your teacher or something?"

Zach nodded. "Something like that. I always dreamed of being a card designer for Industrial illusions, and since he worked for I2, he was always helping me out, teaching me about things like hand advantages and the metagame. He even brought me in to work one day, since his kids were too young. He helped me show my cards to Pegasus, and some of them even got turned into real cards. I still remember that day, we even made an archetype together."

"Sounds like he was really important to you," the blue haired boy concluded. He jumped to his feet. "You want to duel?" He asked.

"We're in a graveyard, I don't think it's quite as respectful as you think it is," Zach pointed out.

"Non-sense. This man died when you were nine right? I'm sure he'd love to see how your dueling skills have improved." He offered a cheery smile as he activated his Duel Disk.

**????: 4000**

Zach nodded. "Okay, I understand your logic, let's duel," the activated his Duel Disk and drew six cards. "I hope you don't mind me taking the first turn."

"Oh no, I love it. My deck is quite capable of an OTK when I go second, so this is exciting."

Zachary set two cards face down and grabbed a monster. "First I play two face downs and bring out Guarded Ninja." (1000/1000) "He might seem weak but he gains 500 attack for each face down on the field. So his attack climbs to 2000."

The teen examined the man garbed in black and smiled approvingly, "I love ninja. I suppose I'm just a geek at heart."

"Next I equip him with Ninja's Seal of Courage. When he would be destroyed in battle, I can send this card to the graveyard instead. The battle damage I take will be doubled, but the trade off will give him half the attack of the monster that would have destroyed him. I end my turn." Zach bowed politely.

"So before I take my turn, I'm guessing that your monster is a Dark Type, right?" The teen asked.

"Yes, my ninja is a Dark attribute monster. Why, do you have an anti-dark card you plan on using?"

The teenager grabbed his deck. "During my draw phase, I can forge my normal draw to add a Lussionary monster from my deck to my hand at the low cost of 1000 Life Points. So I pick Lussionary Dark!" He grabbed his card and slapped it onto the Duel Disk. (1000/1000)

**????: 3000**

"Next I'll summon him," the boy explained. A blob of darkness appeared on the field and quickly took a shape that mimicked Zachary's own form. (1000/1000) "Freaky trick huh? I equip him with Opti-Camouflage Armor, so he can attack directly." The doppelganger began blurring in an out of existence. "Next I activate Obligatory Summon, forcing you to Special Summon as many Dark Monsters from your deck as possible."

"I wonder what you're up to. I can only assume your monster has some sort of adverse effect on Dark monsters, but you appear to be planning a direct attack, so I can't be sure." Zach quickly skimmed through his deck and selected four cards. "I summon Dark Rule Ha-Des (2450/1600) Cosmo Queen (2900/2450) " A ferocious looking demon and a beautiful empress joined his field. Zach continued looking for the last two monsters he wanted. I summon thee, Darklord Superbia!" A beam of darkness fell from the sky, opening a pathway for the winged creature to descend to the field. (2900/2400) It looked like a metal goblet with arms a red face and birdlike wings. "And last but not least Rock Feral Imp!" (1300/1400) A furry green gremlin appeared on the field and removed an electric guitar from his back. He strummed a few notes and smiled happily.

The teenager smiled. "Now, on to my Lussionary Dark's effect. He gains 1000 Attack and Defense for each Dark monster you control." (5000/5000) A powerful dark aura surrounded the mysterious monster. "Next I activate Lussionary Haze." The Duel Disk's field spell zone popped open as the teen slipped the card in. "Now my Lussionary Monsters are immune to your Spells and Traps. Attack directly, Imploding Darkness."

The copy of Zach vanished from sight before reappearing in a burst of darkness. It gently wrapped its arm around Zach's body and nibbled on his ear, inflicting the full damage with a relatively non violent attack.

"I activate Sebek's blessing, allowing me to recover Life Points."

**????: 8000**

**Zach: 0**

Zach was stunned by the boy's victory. "That was amazing," he whispered.

"I know," the boy said as he stepped forward, quickly moving through the vanishing holograms. "Now, forgive me for being so direct, Mr. Edgeworth, but I'd like you to do me a favor. I want you to tell your friend Yosuya that I want to meet her at the local Moink in a week. On Saturday, at any time. I'll be free all day. She just needs to show up." He slowly walked away, not even bothering to glance at the man he had thoroughly crushed.


	10. IHatetheCharacterLimitintheChapterTitles

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX**

**or Sailor Moon or Naruto**

**or ummm what was it?**

**Doctor Who.**

**God Aster's cards from the manga sound cool. Yep, they'll be in the duel today!**

**I'm totally making up the colors though  
**

**AVAVAVAVA**

**Everybody Listen**

Yosuya gripped the microphone tightly in her hand as she selected a song to sing. They were in a Japanese style karaoke box, a rather common sight in America given the recent blurring of cultural boundaries. The work day was over, so she, John, Tex, Marlow, and Lyra (who got in with a fake ID) had all gone to a karaoke bar together to relax. Lyra invited Hazuki along, but the professional singer declined. Lyra waited eagerly as she sipped her cola. Marlow chugged down his second glass of beer**. **Tex and John were chattering away about their girlfriends and Yosuya focused intently on the screen in front of her. She wasn't looking for any song in particular, it was a certain singer she was after.

"I wish you could sort these damn things by artist," she complained. "Okay, here we go."

Yosuya's seductive voice quickly filled the room alongside the pounding beats of the selected techno-rock song.

**Think you can keep up with me?**

**Or should I slow down for your sake.**

**If you can't take the heat- you know what they say**

**You're in obvious agony**

**You've given all you can take**

**And it seems I've blown you away**

**.**

**It seems that your limits are shackled too tight**

**Just give up now 'cause I can go all night**

**You're crying, you're bleeding, you're screaming in pain**

**Misery delicious enough to drive me insane**

**.**

**That mask of courage**

**is nothing but a lie**

**I see the fear within**

**Trembling in your eyes**

**You say you won't give up**

**You wipe the tears dry**

**But I know deep down**

**You're afraid to wither and die**

The lines repeated for a bit before Yosuya concluded with a bow.

Lyra and the others began clapping enthusiastically at her performance. "Wow, I wasn't aware you were a fan of Hazuki's."

"Oh, that was Hazuki's? I didn't realize," Yosuya lied.

. . .

Hazuki pounded her fist against a wall. "Crap, I can't believe we tied again. Why can't I beat that bitch no matter how hard I try?" She walked through her tiny apartment and made her way to the bedroom. Pink curtains covered the window and anime posters decorated the walls. She slumped over to her bed and pulled back the Sailor Moon bed sheets before climbing in. She felt like her soft bed was hugging her tightly but it wasn't enough. She wanted to scream into her naruto pillows and pour out all the anger and frustration.

"Everything okay?" Asked a boy.

Hazuki looked up to see a boy with feathered blue hair and an anime T-shirt. "Oh, hello Ienzo," she greeted. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for asking. Is something the matter."

"No, I just thought I'd drop in to say hello. I met with Mr. Edgeworth today. I One Turned him in a duel and asked him to arrange a meeting between Yosuya and me next week Saturday. I'm not sure she'll show up though. I didn't specify a time so i'm going to be there all day. Want to keep me company?" He looked at Hazuki with glittering eyes full of hope.

She scoffed at his ridiculous expression. "Sorry, but I have plans."

"Okay, I guess I'll probably just take my DS and PSP and some manga to keep me busy."

"You could try a novel. Those things tend to last longer than portable games and manga," Hazuki pointed out.

"True, but nothing out there currently interests me at the moment."

"You should try reading some of Saiko Nomura's work. She's really amazing. She does these amazing mystery stories. My favorite is Duel til Dusk, it tells the story from the point of view of several characters. Each character gets their own segment that last for several chapters, and each ends with a the character solving the mystery and accusing a different person of the crime. You don't find out if any of them are right until the end."

"It sounds interesting, I'll have to look in to it." Ienzo told her.

. . .

Pegasus sat in his bed perusing the new novel he had just bought. He couldn't sleep. The idea of Riding Duels had him thoroughly excited, he couldn't wait. He smiled as he recalled what he had been told. Apparently the motorcycles wouldn't require much in the way of new technology, so they could be crafted in a matter of weeks. They could run some tests for a few more weeks and unveil them to the public before the school year began. As exhausted as he was from his trip, Pegasus felt like jumping for joy.

"I love this book, I simply must find more works by the author." He turned to the front cover to investigate the author's name. "Saiko Nomura."

. . .

Nathaniel scratched his back as he faced the Duel Computer. "Duel start," he commanded. The machine lit up and whirred to life.

"Hello, Nathaniel," it said, recognizing the card creator by voice. "Please select Deck and Skill Level."

"Elemental Hero Skill Level 46." He imputed. The Duel Computer operated on a scale of 0-100, and Nathaniel was skilled enough to go head to head with it up to Level 90. However, he wanted to tone it down a bit for a test duel.

"Drawing six cards," the computer announced. It had decided to go first. "Activating Polymerization to fuse E-Hero Timelord and E-Hero Sparkman to summon E-Hero Chronos." (2000/2000) "Activating Chronos' effect, discarding 1 spell from hand to remove from play one E-Hero from grave and draw two cards. Selected target, Sparkman." Nathaniel watched calmly as an Elemental hero with a brown battle suit and a red helmet opened a rift in space and allowed the computer to draw two cards. "Setting two cards and ending turn." It's mechanical voice revealed no emotions that might reveal a strategy.

Nathaniel calmly drew.

"I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two." He cycled through some cards, almost smiling as his strategy came together.

It was after hours and Nathaniel was putting in unpaid overtime to work on his new cards. After years of Aster being the sole holder of the Destiny Hero cards, they were finally being released to the public. They'd come out in a Special Pack called Hero's Triumph, and they'd feature new support for Elemental heroes as well as the debut of the Evil Heroes. Nathaniel had gotten bored and decided to make up some heroes of his own.

"Next I activate the Spell card Final Flame, you take 1000 damage and I take 500." He wasn't sure why he was explaining it to the computer. "Come on guys," he cheered his deck on.

Virtual Flames roared through the empty white room, burning as brightly as real fire.

**Nathaniel: 3500**

**Computer: 3000**

"Since I took damage and I have a Vision Hero in my graveyard, I can put it into my Spell and Trap zone. So I place Vision Hero Increase there." He retrieved a card from his grave and placed it in his Spell and Trap zone. "Next I normal summon Vision Hero Poisoner." (900/700) A man in a futuristic battle suit appeared on Nathaniel's field. "Next I'll use the effect of the Increase in my Spell and Trap zone. I offer Poisoner to bring out Increase!" His Vision Hero vanished to make room for a new one. (900/1100) He too wore a battle suit. It was black and gold with spikes on the shoulders and on his helmet. "When he's Special Summoned this way I can bring out any hero in my deck!" Nathaniel smiled.** "**Arise, Vision Hero Witch Reid!" (2700/1900) A beautiful witch in a red suit poi9nted her spear at the computer. Lightning burst from the top, blasting away the two face down spell and trap cards. Her long white hair and billowing white cape blocked Nathaniel's view of the event, but he didn't care. the blood red Vision Hero had arrived, just as planned. And now the Duel Computer was wide open. His only monster wouldn't be enough to stand against Reid, and then Increase would go in for a direct attack.** "**Go, team attack, Vision of Glory!" the two monster's unleashed their arsenal of might on the Duel Computer.

**Duel Computer: 1400**

The Duel Computer began its turn by drawing a card. "Two Level 4 or higher monsters detected in graveyard, activating +2 card, Legacy of a Hero, drawing three cards." His hand doubled in size with a single card, but it only got better from there. "Following up with Pot of Greed." The computer's voice almost hinted at happiness. "Activating Miracle Fusion. By fusing Time Lord with the Fire Attribute Lady Heat I may Special Summon Elemental Hero- Cremation." (2400/1200) A gigantic red knight appeared, wielding a red sword in his right hand. Flames lit up his helmet and burned in place of a cape. "Attacking Vision Hero Increase. Cremations' effect will remove from play destroyed monster, nullifying the risk of a repeat of his effect."

The knight slammed into Vision hero Increase and knocked him back before slicing at him with his sword. The Hero shrieked in pain as the flames burnt him to a crisp.

**Nathaniel: 2000**

"Too bad for you my Vision Hero Poisoner is coming back into my spell and trap zone."

Nathaniel smiled. Apparently the computer wasn't too well versed in dealing with the Vision heroes. They were new after all. But he had to be careful, if he gave it a chance, the computer would formulate a winning strategy.

"When cremation destroys a monster in battle, gains 500 attack points." The computer explained the rise in its monster's attack. (2900/1200)

"Well, there goes my plan to immediately destroy your monster with Reid," Nathaniel stated. "But it's okay, I have faith in my cards. You guys will help me win, right?"

"Setting two cards and ending turn."

Nathaniel drew his next card.

While some of them, like Reid, had miscellaneous effects, the Vision Heroes Special Summoning techniques came in two flavors. Those that could offer themselves from the field to summon a buddy from the spell trap zone and those that could offer a buddy on the field to summon themselves from the spell trap zone. Having the rigs one in play at the right time was vital to victory. but so was choosing the right effect. In this case, it was pretty obvious.

"I summon Vision Hero Minimum Ray!" (1200/700) Another man in a battle suit, this time black and white.

At this point, Poisoner could offer Minimum Ray to summon itself. Then Nathaniel could have the attack and defense of a monster on the computer's field. The alternative, however, was much better. Minimum Ray could offer itself to special summon Poisoner than activate its own effect. "I release Minimum Ray to bring Poisoner back to the field!" (900/700) The battle suited hero reappeared and immediately fired a blast of energy at the Elemental Hero. "When Minimum Ray summons a friend, I get to destroy a monster you control." Cremation exploded into particles.

"Analyzing effects. Stronger Vision heroes must offer themselves to use their effects and therefore they can not have their effects recycled as easily," the computer concluded. This, indeed, was true. Poisoner could easily be added back to the spell and trap zone to recycle his effect, but Minimum Ray would need to be Special Summoned first. Of copurse, it wouldn't be that hard. It would only take another Vision Hero to do that.

"Direct attack," Nathaniel ordered.

"Activating Staple Card, Mirror Force. + 1 card at current time, destroys both monsters."

The Vision Heroes blasts of energy rebounded off a wall of light and blasted them both to bits.

Nathaniel slipped his two cards away.

"I set one card and end my turn."

The Duel Computer drew a card. "Analyzing risk potential." It calculated things for a moment. "Threat level medium, Life Points vulnerable, activating Giant Trunade to return all Spells and Traps to hand. Resetting previous face down. Summoning Elemental Hero Avian for a direct attack!"(1000/1000) The muscular green warrior with bird wings appeared on the computer's field before launching toward Nathaniel at high speeds. A swift kick to the Duelist's abdomen sent him reeling backwards.

"Calculating Pros and Cons of waiting, Life Points in need of boost, chances of a larger direct attack are minimum at the moment, activating two Sebek's Blessing to regain 2000 Life Points. Turn end."

**Nathaniel: 1000**

**Computer: 3400**

"I took damage, so you know what that means." Nathaniel reached into his graveyard. "I add Minimum Ray and Poisoner to my Spell and Trap zone." Nathaniel drew a card. "Now, as fun as this has been, it's time to end this." He smiled as he drew the card he needed to turn things around. "First I activate Premature Burial to bring back Reid at the cost of 800 Life Points." (2700/1900) The beautiful Vision Hero blasted away the only face down protecting the computer from a butt whooping.

**Nathaniel 200**

"Next I activate Vision Release, allowing me to Special Summon a Vision Hero Minimum Ray from my Spell and Trap Zone!" (1200/700) "Next I use his effect to Special Summon Poisoner and destroy your Avian!" In a burst of light, Minimum Ray vanished and left Poisoner in his place. The new Vision Hero rushed forward and delivered a mighty kick to his Elemental comrade. "Now, direct attack. Envisioned Victory!" The two monsters charged forward and attacked the air where a human would have stood.

**Computer: 0**

"Good job guys, you did well," Nathaniel complimented his deck.

"Duel over, loss attained, strategical new formula. Remove from play effects essential for combating Vision Heroes. Must be wary of Dimension Fusion and return from Different Dimension. Congratulations on your Victory Nathaniel."

Nathaniel looked through his deck one last time.

"Interesting cards, I like them. They're like a cross between Johan's Crystal Beasts and the ever popular Gladiators."

Nathaniel spun around, surprised to see a familiar face at such a late hour. "Kotone, what are you doing here?"


	11. Mystery Invitation & Drunken CoWorkers!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX**

**Kotone**

Kotone and Nathaniel stood silently for a few moments, neither side knew what to say. "You look different," Nathaniel broke the silence.

Kotone gave a soft chuckle, "well, yeah it has been a few years." Her short blue hair now fell to her waist and her once pale skin now had a slight tan. Her body had transformed from that of a child to that of a young woman. The seventeen-year-old girl smiled at the Card Designer. "Hope you don't mind me sneaking in to see you."

"We're allowed to have visitors, so I doubt I'll get into any trouble," Nathaniel explained. "So, how is Cristian doing?"

"He's doing well," Kotone said with a nod. "My parents are really helpful. Being a single teenage parent is hard, but it's so much easier with the right support."

"Do you need help with anything? You know if you need anything you can just ask, right?" He offered.

"No thanks," Kotone replied. "The baby isn't even that old yet, it's not like I have to shop for a ton of stuff for him just yet. Besides, my parents both have good jobs and I recently managed to get hired myself. And his bastard father is paying child support as well. So it's all working out fine."

Nathaniel smiled. "Well, it's really good to hear from you after so long. You really are my favorite cousin you know."

"I bet you tell all of us the same thing," Kotone smiled.

"I was just about to leave," Nathaniel told her. "Care to join me for a late night snack?"

. . .

The local Moink was filled with late night customers. Vorpal Executioner had just finished playing at the mall, so lots of families were feeling hungry after watching it. The sounds of sizzling bacon, chattering children, and the ringing of timers made it sound like it was still day time. Kotone could smell a yummy burger being cooked on the grill as they spoke. "So," the girl began, "How is work?"

"I made a new version of Gorz that seems to be popular at the office," Nathaniel explained. "They're releasing it as a promo in next month's Shonen Jump. I also just made a new archetype that focuses on swarming the field with Special Summons. I think I might have made it a bit too powerful." His loudly sucked his pink lemonade through a straw. "So tell me about you. You said you got a job?"

"Yeah, I work at a Game Store. That means I can get discounts on all the booster packs I want," Kotone said happily.

"You know if you ever want any cards, you can just ask me, right? We give them out to our friends like candy." Nathaniel's tummy grumbled. He had skipped lunch to work on the Vision Heroes.

"I know, but it's so much fun to tear open a booster pack and see what's inside. Just the other week I got a Dark Armed Dragon!" She said with an energetic grin.

"But you have a kid to think about. Booster packs can be financially draining."

"Shouldn't you be more concerned about promoting your own livelihood? Besides, I don't run a dark deck. DAD was useless to me so i sold it on E-Bay for like, half a million bucks." She leaned in, showing off her shining white smile to her cousin.

Nathaniel shook his head. He understood that Duel Monsters was an important game, but he never got how some people would be willing to pay so much for cardboard with ink. "So, since you seem to be having great luck with your cards, what kind of deck are you currently running?" He inquired.

"Wanna see?" Kotone grinned. She handed her deck over.

. . .

Yosuya and the others stumbled out of the karaoke bar. "W-wow that night was so much fun," Tex stuttered. He could barely walk straight, he was far too drunk. "Wow, the street needs to stop spinning." He nearly stepped onto the road just as red convertible zoomed by. His vulgar shouts were drowned out by the roaring engines of more traffic.

"I think I'm going to hurl," John said as he leaned over a bush.

"You guys can't hold your alcohol can you? God you're such babies," Marlow teased.

The sober Lyra smiled at her crazy friends.

"Wooohooo!" Yosuya cried with joy as she skipped up and down the side walk like a hyperactive schoolchild. "We should do this more often. hey, who wants to duel?" She activated her Duel Disk. "I summon Magical-Macgical, something," she slipped a card onto her Duel Disk. (1400/100) A young girl with blonde hair and a red robe appeared on the side walk. She held a jeweled sword in her hand.

"I summon Swords of Revealing Light in attack Mode!" Marlow placed his swords on the Monster Card Zone, causing the machine to ding.

"Card Read Error. card Read Error."

"Oh, wow." Lyra shook her head. "I'm calling a cab for us guys."

The entire group had walked here, so they needed transportation.

"Huh?" Lyra gave her mobile phone a puzzled look. "One missed call? Oh, it's from Ashton." She made a mental note to call him once she phoned the taxi.

. . .

Nathaniel looked the cards over in shock. "This deck is really amazing. The cards are all rare. How'd you get such a valuable deck?" He asked.

"I used the money from Ebay and bought a bunch of cards over the net. I still had some left over afterward," Kotone explained. "They really go well with Nekoryu, don't you think?"

"Speaking of that lovable Duel Spirit, where is he?" Nathaniel asked.

"I haven't seen him in a while," Kotone admitted. "Apparently bad things are happening soon."

The door creaked open as a man stepped in. He was busy reading the pages of his thick hard cover. He wore a long sleeve white T-shirt layered under a blue T. His messy brown hair gave him a rather cute appearance.

"Oh crap, he's here," Kotone moaned.

"Who is he?" Nathaniel asked.

"He's a kid from my Trigonometry Class. His name's Oliver." Kotone placed her head on the table.

"That doesn't explain why you're avoiding him."

"I kind of stood him up on a date," the girl explained. "We were supposed to go watch Vorpal Executioner, but I told him I was sick.

"Oh, I see." Kotone said with a smile.

Oliver heard the voice of the two duelists and turned around. "Oh, hi," he said awkwardly. "I wasn't expecting to see you here, Kotone." He averted his gaze.

"Ummm, yeah, sorry about that. Listen , let my cousin here make it up to you by treating you to whatever you want." The girl pushed her cousin towards the other boy. "Then you can join us for dinner!"

"No thanks, I'm fine. I'm in a rush anyway. The Silver Duel is about to start in a few minutes. I don't want to miss it." He explained.

"Silver Duel?" Nathaniel inquired.

"Yeah, it's the nickname everyone is giving this duel. Valence and Hector have been rivals for awhile and their matches are both really heated. They were the two best duelists at school until this new kid OTKed them in a triangle duel. Now they're having a match to see who gets to duel the new school champion tomorrow."

"And why is it so late at night?" Nathaniel asked.

"Dramatic effect."

"Ahh, I see."

Kotone smiled. "Valence and Hector are dueling! Hey Nathaniel, you have got to see this, they're both amazing!"

Oliver hung his head low, hiding his grin._ 'Yes, Nathaniel. Come and watch. We promise you won't be disappointed.'_


	12. I Wanna get to the RidingDuelArc Already

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX**

**Oliver**

So, like, there was a bunch of random shit happening, but non of it was that exciting. I'd time skip to the good parts b~ut I have the feeling someone would creep out of the shadows all angry like, so, whatever.

Oliver lead Kotone and Nathaniel through a back street to a large park somewhere. A playground hung around the corner, filled with swings, a jungle gym, a tether ball, some slides, and other structures to entertain children. Nathaniel remembered this place fondly, he used to visit it often as a child. _'I should come here more often,' _he thought to himself. he glanced around. There were a few pavilions here and there, but only one was in use. Someone had set up a cooler filled with non-alcoholic drinks. He could see Kaiba Cola, Ogre Dew, and a few juices as well. Apparently the refreshments were free. He asked Oliver about that, and the boy explained these late night duels were common, and someone usually ended up bringing refreshments.

The crowd wasn't as large as Nathaniel had expected, only about seven spectators (other than his own trio) had gathered to watch the duel. They were talking loudly amongst themselves as two boys walked toward each other with activated Duel Disks. One boy spoke first. "So, Hector, are you ready to lose?" This boy, Valence, had messy brown hair that fell to his neck, wore a blue T-shirt and beige shorts. The moonlight reflected off his red Duel Disk, sparkling in the night. "You know that I've been practicing and I'm better than ever before."

Oliver smirked. "Valence honestly isn't that bad, but he's just a bit cocky at times. They've both beaten each other in the past, but Hector is the better player overall, having won a higher percentage of their duels.I think it's somewhere around 60-70 percent really. I am rooting for Valence though, especially after Hector stole his girlfriend."

Nathaniel offered a false frown of sympathy. he had no real interest in the love lives of teenagers he'd never met.

"Let's just get this over with. The sooner I beat you, the sooner I can get back to Sakura." Hector gibed.

Valence growled at the insult. "Okay, fine, she likes you better." Valence admitted. "But it really irks me when you rub it in with that damn smug face of yours."

"I love it when that tiny brain of yours misses the point." Hector had blonde hair, a muscular build, and wore a blue football jersey and blue jeans.

Valence was about to draw six cards when Oliver cleared his throat. Everyone in the group turned to look at him. He smiled. "Before the duel begins I'd like to introduce a special guest." he gestured to Nathaniel. "This is Kotone's cousin. He's a Card Designer for I2."

"Wow, really?"

"An actual Card Designer?"

"That's so cool!"

"It's not often you get to meet an actual card Designer," Oliver reminded the group. "I know you two are eager to duel each other for a chance to have a rematch with Adel, but this is a rare opportunity you know. After all, the rumors about them are true. They can get access to nearly any card they want,. and hand them out to friends easily. Except for certain legendary rare cards, like Blue Eyes, or the Destiny Heroes."

"Actually, the Destiny Heroes are being mass produced soon," Nathaniel told them. "I can get those for anyone I want."

"Really?" Valence asked with a hopeful ringing resounding in his voice. "I love Edo's cards. Can you really get them for me?"

"God you're pathetic, like a whiny dog begging for table food," Hector shook his head.

"Oh really?" Nathaniel asked. "Are you too proud to beg. Maybe with a few reinforcements you'd actually stand a chance against Adel." He wasn't sure why he was messing with the boy's head. Perhaps it was because he was tired and didn't like being here all that much.

"My deck is great. I'll show you!" Hector's Duel Disk spat out six cards. "I'll duel you and win."

Nathaniel smiled as he reached into his back pocket and retrieved one of his decks. "Let's make a deal. We'll have a two-on-one duel with me taking every other turn and you two sharing a field and Life Points. If you guys win, I'll give Valence a few Destiny Hero cards and Hector, you'll get, whatever." Nathaniel's Duel Disk activated and he drew five cards.

"I'll go first." Hector raised his arm high as he dramatically placed a card in the Spell and Trap Zone. "You'll make an excellent warm up for before I kick Valence's ass. I activate the Spell Card, Mystic Crystal of the Ancients. This card allows me to remove from play up to three spells in my deck and gain 300 Life Points each."

**Team Silver: 4900**

"Next I normal summon Spellix Flarer." (1200/1000) A witch in a blue sweater rose up from a kneeling position and gave Nathaniel a nasty look. She held out her palm and generated a small fireball that cast a warm glow on her face, revealing a vicious smile and long angry red hair. "I set one card and end my turn." Flarer sent the fireball flying forward. It crashed into Nathaniel and knocked him back a little.

**Nathaniel: 3700**

"During your endphase that card deals me 100 damage for each card you have removed from play, right?" Nathaniel gained a sixth card for his hand. "I'm familiar with it. Marlow loved making that card. His only regret was that her bust size had to be reduced from double d's to b's." his seemingly pointless prattling of trivial knowledge was actually an attempt at psychological warfare. he was showing off his knowledge of the cards, hoping it would intimidate the two boys. "Come on guys, you can do this," he said to his cards. Nathaniel opened the Field and Trap Zone and played his Field Spell Card. "I'm using Clock Tower Prison!" he announced proudly.

Valence watched in awe as the Clock tower rose from the ground and shot up into the sky. "I'm getting to face the legendary Destiny Heroes? That's amazing."

"God you have such a boner for Edo," Hector teased.

Nathaniel shook his head. "If you don't focus you're going to lose." He warned. "I summon Destiny Hero-Dunker in defense mode." (1200/1700) A muscular man with green skin and purple dreadlocks fell from the sky and sent a cloud of dust flying as he landed with a thud. "I send one Destiny hero in my hand to the graveyard to inflict 500 points of damage." Dunker jumped into the sky and gathered glowing energy in his hand. he formed an orb of light the size of a basketball and immediately threw it down at Valence.

"Ahh," he screamed as he was knocked off his feet.

**Team Silver: 4400**

"Hahaha, that's all you're doing this turn. My Spellix Flarer will wear you down to nothing in only a few turns. Even your Clock Tower will be useless against what I have in store."

Nathaniel grabbed a new card. "I set one card and activate Monster Reborn!" A large pile of stone fell from the sky and landed with a thunderous boom. "welcome my Destiny Hero-Defender!" (100/2700) The monster created a barricade between Nathaniel and any physical attacks he might have to worry about."

"That thing might have a tough defense," Valence admitted, "but we'll get extra cards each turn."

"I activate Inferno reckless Summon to bring out two more Defenders!" (100/2700) Two more thunderous booms signaled the arrival of two more walls protecting the Card Designer.

"Hah, you're stalling and doing it badly. We're going to win this easily," Hector announced. he reached into his deck. "And don't forget the downside of your card. I get to bring out two more Spellix Flarers. (1200/100) two more witches joined his first. "Now you'll take 900 damage during each of your turns."

"Your move, Valence."

Valence drew four cards. "I get one card for my normal draw and another for each of your Defenders," he explained.

"But, two other three others things happen as well." Nathaniel pointed to the clock tower. The hour hand was marching forward, indicating the flow of time and representing the inescapable hands of destiny.

"Your Clock Tower Prison gains a Clock Counter. Once it accumulated four, you won't be taking battle damage," Valence explained, demonstrating his knowledge of Edo's cards.

"And, once my first Defender activates, I chain my Appropriate. Now, whenever you draw outside of your drawphase, I get two cards. That happens twice so I get four."

Valence's massive Hand Advantage shrunk by a small bit.

"Something else happens as well," Hector said with a smirk. Three blue spirits rose form his graveyard and slammed into Nathaniel before returning to the graveyard.

"Last turn, I removed from play three," hector's explanation was interrupted.

"Shaman's Bleak Curses. During your standby phase, each leeches away 200 of your opponent's Life Points for yourself. I remember designing that card to work with that Mystic crystal you just used."

**Nathaniel: 3100**

**Team Silver: 5000**

Valence grinned at his huge lead. "Hah, we've got this in the bag."

"Seems like Hector is doing all the work," Kotone teased.

Valence frowned a little. "I summon Solar Flare Dragon," he announced as the fiery orange dragon snaked his way across the field and made it to his side. "Then I set four cards and end my turn." Four new face downs materialized alongside the single card Hector has set. "I end my turn." Solar Flare Dragon and the three Spellix Flarer's smiled as they unleased a straem of fire that licked Nathaniel's body.

**Nathaniel: 1700**

"500 from SFD and 300 each from the Witches. Good thing you guys don't have dark Room of Nightmare out. I'd be dead." He drew his next card. "Okay, I have what I need. I'll begin with Pot of Greed," he announced as he drew two cards. "I activate the Spell Card Destiny's Approach. Now, whenever I Special Summon a Destiny Hero, I can add 1 Clock Counter to my Prison. Atleast for this turn."

"I've never heard of that card," Valence announced.

"It's new. I made it." Nathaniel explained blandly. "Now I activate Dunker's effect and send 1 Destiny hero from my hand to the graveyard." Dunker jumped into the sky and shot another swirling orb of light at the helpless Valence, knocking him on his butt.

"Ahh," he screamed again. "Why is it always me?"

**Team Silver: 4500**

"I remove from play the Malicious I just sent to the graveyard to Special Summon another one from my deck. (800/800) A shirtless man with thick muscles, fur covered legs, three horns, and bat wings appeared on the field. "Now I activate Mass Driver. "For each monster I offer, I can inflict 400 damage to your Life Points." A giant canon appeared behind Nathaniel's monsters and aimed itself at Hector. "I offer Malicious!" The Destiny hero became a giant ball of light that the canon gratefully ate for ammunition. It screeched loudly as it fired a thick yellow beam of light at hector, knocking him off his feet.

**Team Silver: 4100**

"I didn't feel a thing," the boy stated.

"By removing my second Malicious I can summon a third and offer him as well."

Malicious barely had time to materialize before Mass Driver shot him at valence, sending the poor boy flying a few feet backwards. He crashed to the ground with a thud. He let out a cry of pain as his head slammed the ground hard.

"Oww," he whimpered.

**Team Silver: 3700**

"None of this matters," Nathaniel explained. "Even if you offer all those monsters and summon a new one to offer, you can only bring us down to 2200 Life Points. Next turn, we're dealing 2000 damage minimum, and you only have 1700 Life Points."

"His Clock Tower Prison has three Counters," Valence warned as he got up.

"You don't look too well," Nathaniel stated. "Perhaps you'd like to drop out and let your friend continue alone."

"He is not my friend," Valence growled. "And no, I'm not backing down."

Nathaniel shook his head. "I activate Burial from the Different Dimension to return the three Malicious Cards to my graveyard." Nathaniel's move earned him quizzical looks.

"Oh carp," Hector gave a worried frown. "You have Pot of Avarice don't you? You're going to resummon two of your Maliciouses. Well It still won't be enough."

"Next I summon Elemental Hero Stratos! This card was designed to help unify the Hero Acrhetypes. It lets me take a Hero monster in my deck and add it to my hand." (1800/300) "I'll choose Destiny hero Disk Commander and use Dunker's effect." Dunker jumped above Hectopr and gathered a ball of energy in his hand. The boy braced himself for impact and managed to remain standing.

**Team Silver: 3200**

"Now I offer my Stratos and Dunker to Mass Driver!" Nathaniel watched his canon fire a beam of light at each of the boys Valence fell to the ground while Hector managed to remain standing. **(2400)**

"You should have kept Dunker," Hector lectured. "Atleast for now. You never know, you might have drawn more heroes to use with his effect when you use Pot of Avarice."

"I activate Pot of Avarice to return five monsters to my deck and draw two cards," Nathaniel announced. He grabbed some cards from his grave and shuffled them into his deck. When he was done, he replaced his deck and drew two cards.

Valence was breathing loudly as he rose to his feet. "I will not let you win," he warned.

"I remove from play Malicious to summon his friend!" (800/800) Clock Tower Prison gained its fourth counter as its hand marched forward. Malicious once more appeared on the field as he unfurled his wings and smiled at his targets. "Go, Mass Driver!" Nathaniel ordered. It fired a beam of light at Valence, once more knocking him to the ground. "I'll remove that Malicious to bring another one out and fire him at you two as well." malicious materialized as a glowing yellow silhouette that immediatly shot at Valence, just as he had returned to his feet. **(1600)**

"If he fired all his monster's at us, that's 1200 damage. he only needs to summon one more to win." valence gasped in surprise.

"Duh, you idiot, I'm in a higher math class then you."

Nathaniel smiled. "All those trap cards and not one to protect against Direct Damage. Well, looks like it's time to end this, Heavy Storm."

At that moment, Valence wished he had played some form of Counter Trap on the field. All his face downs were blown away, and the Clock Tower Prison shattered.

A large man with a muscular body and ripped pants fell from the sky. he had shackles around his wrists that clanged as he walked forward. malicious reappeared from the grave at his side. (800/800)

"Hahaha, too bad you got rid of Mass Driver," Valence laughed. "And you summoned that thing in attack mode. you should've played it in defense."

"Who says I don't have another Mass Driver?" Nathaniel cocked an eyebrow as he raised his three remaining cards. He watched the boy's face as his heart sank. "First, I activate Mass Driver." Nathaniel announced as his new cannon appeared to replace the old one. "But that's just for fun. As you know, Edo's Dreadmaster gains attack and defense equal to the combined original attack and defense of the Destiny Heroes on its controller's field. "So now it's attack is low and his defense is high, right?" (1100/8900) "I activate Shield and Sword to flip all monster's stats."

The two teens watched in horror as Dreadmaster roared with power. "I switch my Defender's into attack mode." Nathaniel announced.

"I forfeit," Hector announced as he backed away from the duel. The holograms of his witches remained.

"And you?" Nathaniel asked Valence.

"I-I'm ready," he said with a smile. He his his fear well. "Hit me with everythign you've got."

"Suit yourself." Nathaniel smiled. "I forfeit."

"Huh?" The audience gasped.

"What?" Valence questioned with a confused look.

"The cards are yours," he said as he turned over his deck. Good luck defeating Hector and winning your match with Adel. Anyway, it's late, I'm tired, see ya."

Nathaniel began walking away. "Anyway, sorry to ditch you Kotone, but I'm drained."

Oliver smiled as he watched the card designer walk away. _'That was more fun than I expected.'_


	13. There is no Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX**

**Text**

Lyra looked down at her phone. Hazuki had sent her a text message.

_Are you superstitious?_

She typed her response.

_Yeah. A little. Why?  
_

Hazuki responded pretty quickly.

_Just wondering.  
_

Lyra found that odd.


	14. Now There Is

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX**

**A New Day**

Yosuya walked into the office wearing a revealing black dress that showed off her cleavage. It easily earned her the stares of Marlow**, **Tex, John, Hazuki, and Lyra. Hazuki blushed when she noticed Yosuya staring back at her. She quickly turned away to hide her embarrassment at having been caught. "What's the matter?" Yosuya asked with a smirk. "Jealous that my boobs are bigger?"

"I am perfectly confident with my body the way it is." Hazuki defended.

"R~ight," Yosuya sang. "It's so cute whenever you try to hide how you feel," Yosuya leaned in close and gently tilted Hazuki's head into alignment with her own. The two women stared deeply into each other's eyes. Hazuki could hear her heart speeding up.

"Yosuya, leave Hazuki alone," Shana growled. "Marlow already sexually harasses the girls in this office enough as it is, we don't need any more law suits to deal with." She let out a sigh.

John grumbled under his breath. "Damn, it was just starting to look good."

Lyra bounded over to Yosuya's side and grabbed her hands. "Guess what!" She told the other woman.

"You proposed and now you're my future daughter-in-law?"

Lyra sank to her knees. "N- I don't like Ryou," she protested. "Besides, I think he's gay."

"Actually, I think he's straight. Bi, maybe, but not gay. Atleast, I don't think so. It's so hard to tell these days," Yosuya scratched her head. "Come to think of it, I really should ask him."

"Anyway," Lyra returned to her feet, "Pegasus-sama said the translation on the Sealed Angels is going well. They found a scholar who was able to translate the runes. Apparently they're in some ancient language called Latrenian. He said the translations should be done in less than a week." She hugged Yosuya excitedly.

"Lyra, no hugging," Shana scolded. "What did I just say about sexual harassment?"

"You're an uptight bitch," Yosuya told her. "You need to loosen up. Find a man and get laid. or a woman if you prefer."

Shana's face turned red with extreme anger. "That's it, we're dueling right now." She quickly activated her Duel Disk as her Life Points hummed up to 4000.

"Make it quick you two," John told the girls. "Queen Kaiba's dueling Ashirogi Nizuma in ten minutes."

"That's today?" Yosuya said airily. "I totally forgot. Well, we better make this quick."

Shana gave her hand a quick examination before her brain instantly formulated a plan. "I set three cards and summon Trap Rocket Ninja!" (1400/1000) "Whenever I activate a Normal Trap, it'll become an equip card and give my Ninja a 400 point boost," Shana explained.

"Ninja sure are popular lately," Yosuya commented as she was greeted by the skinny Asian warrior in a red haori. She glanced at his arsenal of weapons. he carries knives, a naginata, a short sword, and nunchaku. "Wow, he looks like a toughy."

"Your move, Yosuya," Shana told her.

"'Kay, I draw." The white haired woman was about to play her card when Shana interrupted with an outstretched hand. "Oh you have a trap?"

"I begin with All-Out Attacks. This card forces all Special Summoned monsters into attack mode and forces them to attack if they are able. Next I use Ojama Trio, summoning the,"

"God I hate those three," Yosuya massaged her face as the Green, Yellow, and Black Ojamas filled up her field.

"Next the trap equips itself to my Ninja, giving him a 400 point boost." Shana smiled as she began activating her next card. "Go, reinforcements, give my Ninja 500 attack and a 400 point boost from equipping yourself to it." Shana's grin widened as her monster's attack rose. (2700/1000) "I win, Yosuya."

"I activate Owner's Seal, giving control of the Ojama Brats to you."

The three Tokens smiled as they danced their way across the field and joined Shana's ninja.

"Hah," Lyra cheered. "Yosuya defeated the OTK with a single card."

"Yosuya is one of the strongest duelists here," Marlow reminded Lyra. "God, sometimes I wish she wasn't such a bitch, she's hot."

"Watch your language, Marlow," Shana scolded.

Yosuya grinned. "Marlow, call me a bitch again and you'll find yourself deprived of that which you cherish most."

"HUh?" he asked quizzically.

"I think it means wear a cup," John offered.

Yosuya presented her next card to the audience. "I summon Bat!" (300/350) A small mechanical bat appeared on the field. it was golden colored with purple wings. "Next I activate Machine Duplication to bring out two more from my deck!" The mecha-bat blurred as it split into three copies of itself. "Next I activate Triangle Power!" the three monsters began glowing brightly as their attack points roared up to acceptable standards. (2300/2350) "I know, it's still not enough to defeat your ninja, but I activate Limiter Removal to double their attacks!" The machines burst apart, leaving only their wiring exposed. (4600/2350) "And lastly, as much as I hate those damn Ojama Brats, I feel bad attacking them when I don't have to, so I'll use Delta Attacker and let my Bats attack you directly. Go now, Belfry Basher!" Yosuya deactivated her Duel Disk before the attack even began. "Meh, I'm bored, you win."

Shana growled angrily. "Dammit, Yosuya!"

"Look, the duel should be starting soon, we all want to watch, right?"

The group moved as a single unit, grabbing chairs from their desks and moving them to a comfortable spot in front of the large plasma television set. Marlow grabbed the remote and quickly found the right channel. The sound of a cheering crowd flowed in through the surround sound speakers and filled the room. "Everybody get ready," the announcer announced. He had sleek black hair and wore a black tuxedo. "The long awaited duel is about to begin. Ashirogi Nizuma is challenging Queen Kaiba for the title of American Champion. In one corner, we have Ashirogi Niizuma!" He signaled to a young man. He had messy black hair and wore a tight black shirt with a red lycoris on it. "This man has gone head to head with the King of Games himself and held his own! This duelist has come from the land of Japan to seek out new opponents. He's crushed many in his way and now he's after the title of American Champion. "

Ashirogi smiled and waved to the crowd.

"In this corner, we have the lovely Queen Kaiba, our current American Champion!"

He signaled to a beautiful woman with long blonde hair, a pink sweater over a white shirt, and simple jeans. Glasses framed her eyes, giving her an intelligent and deadly look. She smiled at her opponent. "So, we finally get to meet, I've been looking forward to our duel."

"As have I, Lady Kaiba."

"Please," she said, "Call me Rebecca."


	15. Queen Kaiba

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX**

**Queen Kaiba**

The two duelists bowed politely as they shuffled their decks. "I hope you don't mind that I'm taking the first move," Rebecca said as she inserted her deck into the Duel Disk. It snapped to life and spat out a hand for the legendary duelist. "Hmmm, not bad," she said happily as she looked over her hand. "Maybe this will complete what I need." She reached for the next card in her deck. "All right, I activate Ancient Rules to Special Summon Blue Eyes White Dragon to the field!" (3000/2500) The blue dragon roared its greeting to the audience as it appeared on Rebecca's field.

"It's the fourth Blue Eyes." Someone gasped.

"It's real."

"I thought they said Kaiba tore it up when he won it from Yugi's grandpa in a duel."

Rebecca chuckled. "It seems my audience is intrigued by the sudden reappearance of a once destroyed card. Yes, my brother-in-law did tear this card up when he won it from Yugi's grandfather, but it's amazing what the right tools can do when it comes to restoring card board. His wedding present to me was to have this card fixed. I've just been saving it for a little while." Rebecca smirked.

"So, looks like I'll be facing the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon." Ashirogi said with a grin. "Looks like this duel is going to be filled with surprises."

"You can bet your heart on it," Rebecca said with a grin. She quickly adjusted her glasses as she selected another card. "I activate Dragon Meteor Crash. This is a Continuous Spell Card that allow me to check your deck once a turn and send a monster to the graveyard, so long as its attack is equal to or lower than a dragon I control. Seeing as I have Blue Eyes on the field, that means I can decimate your deck slowly turn by turn."

"Ah, but it's best to be careful. Many cards are designed to take advantage of monster's in the graveyard. Once Monster Reborn could easily give me the advantage I need."

"Not necessarily," Rebecca said as she stepped toward the man. "First of all, it will have lower attack then my Blue Eyes so I can defeat it head on. Second, if it has a powerful effect I'll be sure to keep it in your deck to make sure you _don't_ revive it." She held out her hand. her opponent politely handed over his deck which she quickly glanced through. "Cards that allow you to search your opponent's deck for any reason have a major advantage. They allow you to peak into their arsenal and plan against whatever you can foresee. It seems you still enjoy your Needle Burrower, Greed Quasar, and Calculator Cards."

"Indeed I do," Ashirogi admitted.

"The card I'm sending to your graveyard is Grinder Golem. (3000/0) But don't make any plans to Special Summon it and strengthen it for a battle against my Blue Eyes. I'm activating Blue Eyes Silvernovae. I can only activate this Spell by paying 1000 Life Points while I control a Blue Eyes White Dragon. I can remove from play a monster in your graveyard and inflict damage to you equal to its attack." Blue Eyes White Dragon roared as its majestic wings took it into the air. It charged a beam of light and trained its attack on Ashirogi's graveyard. "Go, Nova Burst!"

The flash of light blinded the audience for a split second as a loud screeching sound tore through the stadium.

**Rebecca: 3000**

**Ashirogi: 1000**

"Our decks are both the crème de la crème, but it seems that I managed to get lucky this turn. Do your best to or I'll deliver the coup de grâce next turn." She didn't sound like she was bragging. She was genuinely wishing him the chance to do well and extend the duel.

"Why didn't she summon another monster?" John asked.

"Maybe she doesn't have one," Tex offered.

Marlow offered his opinion. "Her Blue Eyes is all she needs right now, so she's probably saving it. She gave up a lot of cards for that combo, so if a spell or trap destroys her monsters she'll need back up to protect her Life Points."

Yosuya smirked. "She's in a tight spot. A Snatch Steal could end this all right now."

Lyra was too focused on the duel to offer any comments.

Ashirogi drew his next card. "I activate the Spell Card Orez Soul. If you control a monster and I control none, I can Special Summon a monster with less attack from my deck. So come on out, Batteryman AA." (0/0) A red battery with the number 3 emblazoned on its side appeared. Electricity shot out in all directions, forming two orange legs, two arms, and an orange and white head. "Next I activate Inferno reckless Summon to bring out his two brothers!" Electricity rained down on the arena, taking the form of two more Batterymen. "While all Batterymen AA's are on the field, in the same battle position, they'll boost the each gain 1000 attack per AA. So now they have 3000 attack, just enough to destroy your dragon."

"An impressive move," Rebecca complimented. "In one turn you have three monsters capable of rivaling the legendary Blue Eyes White Dragon. Are you planning on summoning anything else?"

"I'll set two cards," Ashirogi stated as his face downs appeared before him. "Go, AA Number 1, suicide bomb the dragon."

Batteryman AA fired a shot of electricity that energetically bounced along the ground and made its way to the dragon. Blue Eyes let out a cry of pain, but didn't let AA get away with it. The dragon unleashed a glowing blue beam of light that crashed through AA. Both monsters took each other out."

"And my Continuous Spell Card's effect activates. now that I have no dragons out, it gets destroyed."

"Your field is wide open," Ashirogi pointed out. "My AA's may have lost 1000 attack each, but that's still enough to take you out. Go, AA Number 2, Electrocharge."

Rebecca closed her eyes and held out her arms, accepting the incoming attack with no problems. Electricity cackled all around her and her Duel Disk hummed as her Life Points dropped.

**Rebecca: 1000**

"Her field is completely empty," Marlow noted.

"I Special Summon Gorz the Emissary of Darkness from my hand," Rebecca announced. (2700/2500)

Darkness swirled around her and gathered in the form of a man. he had flaming red hair, black armor, and a red cape attached to his waist. Blades grew out of his gloves and glinted in the light. "And he brings with him an Emissary of Darkness Token!" (2000/2000) Gorz was quickly joined by a black and white armored knight.

"I end my turn," Ashirogi said with a smile.

"We're probably both worried right now. I know I am," Rebecca announced as she drew her card. "Either of your traps could easily win this duel for you, or I could draw something to blow them both away." She smiled as she saw her card. "I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards and discard two." She cycled through an entirely new hand before smiling. "As most people do when activating this card, I have managed to fill my graveyard with something useful. I'll next use Pot of Greed to increase my hand by one." She put the Spell in her grave and drew two more from her deck. "Now I'll use Monster Reborn to bring back Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" (2800/2400) A shiny black dragon appeared on her field. "Once per turn he allows me to Special Summon a dragon from my hand or graveyard. So I'll revive Blue Eyes White Dragon!" (3000/2500) The Blue Eyes White Dragon roared triumphantly as it returned from the graveyard.

The audience gasped in awe at the amazing sight. Even Ashirogi seemed impressed.

"Now I'll release both of my dragons and my token to bring out Golden Dragon Pedulum Knight!" (3200/2000) The three monsters vanished, leaving the audience stunned. What could possibly surpass the monsters she currently controlled. The answer was simple. _This._

She had a slender body draped in golden silk. Long blonde hair fell to her waist. She had seventeen white wings that shone brightly. In her left hand she held a golden spear. In her right she held a sword. "This monster can only be Special Summoned by releasing three monsters, and they can only be Fairies, Dragons, or Warriors. In addition, once per turn, I can remove from play one of those kinds of monsters to activate the following effects. Fairy, increase my life Points by the Fairy's attack. As useful as that would be, I'm taking the offensive. "By removing a Dragon, I can destroy a monster you control. helpful, but still not what I need. I'll instead remove my warrior, preventing the activation of traps for the remainder of the turn." She quickly retrieved a card and slipped it into her pocket. "He got in there thanks to Graceful Charity," she explained.

Ashirogi smiled, gracefully acknowledging defeat.

_"_Now, I hope you don't mind, but our audience is expecting a show. I activate Dragon's Rebirth Ritual. By discarding a dragon from my hand I can add one from my graveyard to my hand. So I'll take back Red Eyes Darkness Dragon. Now, I'll remove from play the dragon I just discarded to Special Summon him to the field!" (2800/2400) The Red Eyes roared with might as it returned. "Now, bring back Blue Eyes!" (3000/2500) The audience cheered at the monster's return. "Now, go, Burst Stream!" She ordered.

Blue Eyes White Dragon dutifully obeyed, blasting Batteryman AA with a stream of light that reduced Ashirogi's attack exactly to 0.


End file.
